Enchantment Passing Through
by DarkHonda
Summary: Thing is...she didn't want to be a ranger anymore, but why is she telling this to a stranger she's just met? Kelsey Winslow meets a very likable stranger in an unlikely place. (RyanXKelsey, PRLR, AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** The title is a number from the musical Aida. Look it up on YouTube.  
Have a great read and don't forget to tell me what you think in a review!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter One**

It has been a hard day; a tiring, over-the-top, hateful, elaborating, endless day, and Kelsey Winslow just wanted it to end. Now. But it was only early afternoon and she had an inkling this was not going to be a quiet night. Why did she deserve all of this?

Around three o'clock AM there was an attack on the city that required the Power Rangers. Of course they were blocking the attack and fighting the hoards of Batlings led by none other than Loki. It was Three O'fucking-Clock in the night, or morning! They returned to the Aquabase a little after sunrise, straight to Carter's no-nonsense, no-skipping-even-if-you're-dead morning training.

She didn't even manage to have breakfast because just as she laid her bottom on her seat at the table, Ms. Fairweather beeped her for some good old "seasonal" Evaluation.

In which she has been slain for being lazy (at times), quiet (she was not her_ usual_ self, to Ms. Fairweather) and sloppy (and when will _that _ever change?). Kelsey said nothing, not even bothering to defend her behavior in the last few weeks. Whatever, right? They didn't take her Morpher, so why was this feedback even relevant?

Maybe she wanted them to take her Morpher.

Sure, she's miss her Zord, the Adrenalin Rush, the satisfaction of winning, but – See? There never used to be a but! And now…

Well, after Ms. Fairweather's _Evaluation_ of her, Kelsey needed a time to herself, away. It was so strange of her not to turn to Dana or Chad for encouragement or just to talk this bad mood off. Not that she was in any kind of mood, of course. So she decided to go rollerblading, it was her choice of sport if she had a lot on her mind, because she didn't need to pay too much of attention to her surrounding, just not to skate into people or trees.

She hurried to her room, to change, pulling on black tights and a yellow and white tank top on which she threw a gray hoodie; she pulled on her rollerblades and skated out of her room and then – the Aquabase – so fast, that she forgot her headphones.

Sometimes she just wanted to throw her Morpher to the Ocean.

It's not that she hated being a ranger, she really didn't. Being a ranger was probably the best and the most important thing she has ever done in her life, the only thing she never regretted, not even now. It had matured her and got her to think seriously about life, priorities, other people! Who would've thought she could give so much of herself to something? To dedicate and commit to such a long period of time? Yes, being a ranger proved her she was an able person.

And still…

She skated in Mariner Bay's Park, enjoying the wonderful breeze coming from the ocean and the fading colors of the skies, surrendering to the darkness.

There was such a big world out there.

Beyond the Aquabase, beyond the Ocean; people to see, places to explore, new cultures to meet! And she was stuck, here, in little, old, _boring_ Mariner Bay. Okay, maybe not all that boring now with all of those monsters and demons, but still, even defeating monsters and demons was part of the grueling, day to day agenda.

It frustrated her;

She stopped and sat on a bench at the top of a small hill looking at a view of the City and the Bay. Two street lamps were already alight, while the sun was nearly all gone in the horizon now. Kelsey sighed.

What does she want? To stay, to leave? What will make her happy?

She didn't know.

Someone was walking near by and Kelsey tensed; a moment later a man walked her way, he was tall and broad-shouldered, his hair of dirty blond. He was wearing a black jeans and a black button on shirt, that had three buttons open at the front.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said right as he noticed her. "I'll come back later – "

"No, I was just leaving. Stay." She said, feeling slightly shy at his politeness.

"You shouldn't leave, the sunset here is spectacular." He blinked sort of innocently. "You'll miss it."

She nodded, blushing at his honesty.

"Well, you should join me, then. I wouldn't want you to miss it." She offered simply and scooted to the left side of the bench.

"Thanks." He said and sat to her right. "You seemed in a deep thought and I didn't want to disturb."

"Yes, I guess I do have a lot on my mind recently." She shrugged. "I don't know if I'm here because I needed to run away or because I needed some quiet."

"I think it's the same, wanting peace and a passion to be away. Are you not happy where you normally are?"

"I am, most of the time." She shrugged and bent down a little to free her legs from her rollerblades. "It's just that only recently I've realized how much there is to see out there."

She pulled her legs close to her, so that her chin rested on her knees.

He smiled at her, a small, no-teeth, showing one dimple sort of smile.

"It's normal to want to see the world, you know, there _is_ a lot to see."

"Have you…?" Her voice trailed, shy. She blushed;

"I've been to great many places, I could tell you a thousand stories of my travels." He paused, trying to understand her expression; her eyes were a little glazed and she bit her bottom lip.

"You want this, huh? Travel the world?"

She nodded; she was jealous and hopeful and so, potently wanting.

"I want to be free…"

Guilt has immediately flooded her; wasn't she free? She could go everywhere with anyone, no one ever gave her a curfew or tried to take over her life. Sure, there was Carter's 'well-planned' agenda but other than that…

"What's binding you?" He whispered softly.

"Well, my job." She rubbed her neck. "It's not that I don't like it, I'm just..." She had no words to describe exactly what. She was at a loss for words.

"I think you need a vacation." He said gently, looking straight ahead, at the darkening skies.

"Vacation doesn't exist in my vocabulary." She smiled ruefully.

"It should." He smiled. "It would ease that tension from your shoulders and would put a smile on your face."

She smiled shyly.

"You have a pretty smile." He complimented.

"Thanks." She said, embarrassed; it was the first time she has ever received a compliment from a guy. "You know, I don't even know why I'm telling you this, when you're a stranger that I've just met?"

He chuckled.

"Well, I'm listening."

She smiled. "Thanks again."

Her morpher beeped and Kelsey sprung to her feet. "I have to get going." She excused. "Thanks for the listening."

"I enjoyed it. I'll be here tomorrow, same time. I love watching the sunset."

She blushed as she slipped her feet to her rollerblades and stood up.

"Maybe." She shrugged and skated away.

The stranger, whoever he may be, gave her some things to think about; she did like her job as a ranger, maybe she was worn off a little and did need a break. A vacation. She decided she would make an appointment to see Captain Mitchell and then she would ask for a few days off. Maybe it was, indeed, all she needed to shrug this heavy weight down.

It was new: not to consult Dana before taking this step, but Kelsey thought it refreshing, a beginning of a positive change in her life. She hoped the vacation, which its destination she hadn't set yet, would lift her spirits and give a push to her motivation.

She tried not to think about the handsome stranger any more than that, because soon after she found herself admitting his suggestion of taking a vacation was a great idea, she couldn't help but think of his light blond hair and athletic build and her heart started racing.

Heck, she wasn't even sure if she should return to that hill the next day, for sunset.

But she did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** Review, Please!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Two**

She walked in the park; it was nearly sunset as the skies were still light blue. Mothers were watching their children run along and play catch, a group of elderly people were practicing what looked like Tai-Chi on a patch of grass, a father and sun sitting on a nearby bench and eating ice cream.

Those were the people she was protecting. They feel safe in Mariner Bay because they know that if they get into trouble, there'll be someone who'd come to save them. The Power Rangers. Her.

She found it enchanting; the fact she could help so many people by just them knowing she was there.

She took the road that led uphill to the observation point; it was strange that it wasn't marked, and only if you knew it existed or if you went exploring, you'd come across it. Sort of like a secret place. She smiled to herself and before she could think anything else, she was standing in front of an empty bench.

A little disappointed that he wasn't there, she sat down, staring at the way the sunrays reflected upon the waves that looked like small ripples from way uphill. It was funny how a wave that could easily drown a person, looked as small as a little ripple from afar.

"Hello."

She turned her head to see him; he was smiling and holding two paper cups.

"I hope you like De-Caff, extra Crème because it was the only thing they had at the shop." He smiled and offered her one cup. She laughed and took it.

"Thanks. It happens to be my favourite."

"Really?"

"No, but I don't want you to feel bad. Thank you."

They laughed together.

He sat next to her, not at the other side of the bench like the day before, closer. She watched the view but also, him, from the corner of her eye. He looked calm and sipped his coffee tranquilly, almost too confident.

Seriously, how could a person be that confident while drinking his coffee?

"So, how was today? You seemed pretty upset yesterday."

"Yes, well, I think I'm going to take that vacation you suggested. It'll do me good."

"Great!" He smiled at her and she smiled back, embarrassed.

"Thanks." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "You know, you're still a stranger I've just met."

"I'm not a Stranger, I'm Ryan. Hunters." He offered his hand for a handshake. "I do believe we've met." He smiled a real smile, that sort of smile that not only showed off his dimple but also showed off his perfect white teeth and a cute, little scar at the side of his chin.

"Kelsey Winslow." She took his hand in hers.

They shook hands for a moment, looking in each other's eyes and Kelsey couldn't help but suddenly notice that his eyes were black, completely black. She wondered whether it was a trick of the changing lights, and still, they fascinated her; his eyes were alluring, enchanting and while she felt mesmerized by his eyes, she didn't pull her hand from his grasp.

"Your eyes are the same shade of Sapphire." He told her softly. "Beautiful."

She blushed.

"Yours are black."

"They used to be in the shade of Amber once, but the dark took over." He explained, making her shift uncomfortably; 'dark' was not a word she was used to. She looked away from him, pulling her hand from his, but he grasped it again, quickly.

"Are you afraid of the Dark, Kelsey?"

He entwined their fingers, his caressing hers.

She turned to him and stared into his eyes, almost scornfully. "No. Darkness is not a threat on me."

"The Dark is stronger than the Light. Look at the skies, how the Light is defeated by the blackness." The way he spoke was strange, like he enjoyed the darkness and favoured it upon the light, which was unusual in a city where true Darkness was threatening the everyday life of everyone.

"Darkness only exists because there is no light. Even the tiniest of lights can banish a lot from the dark." She answered in confidence and squeezed his hand.

"Darkness has magic." He smiled crookedly.

"Black Magic." She rolled her eyes.

"But Magic, nonetheless. It's powerful."

"As is love, hope, happiness, friendship!" She countered enthusiastically. "One can be drunk on power, proud and arrogant, but when you have friendship and love, it can never be too much."

"Not all friendships last."

"Then why are you even talking to me if you don't believe in friendship?"

He stared into her shining eyes and brought her hand to his lips.

"You are an intriguing creature who I'd like to explore." He kissed the back of her hand and planted small kisses all around till her palm where he kissed the interior and tried to nip at her flesh.

"Stop!" She pulled her hand away from him, half giggling. It tickled!

He smiled at her.

"You're very lovely when you laugh. Your eyes sparkle like gemstones, it's enchanting to me."

She blushed and he touched her cheek.

"Beautiful."

Her morpher beeped, indicating the hour; she rose to her feet quickly. "I must go."

He rose as well and took her hand, she stopped, and he took two steps closer to her. Only then she realized he was taller than her, her head reached his shoulders, she had to look up when she looked at him.

"You haven't even drunk your coffee." He indicated at the full cup bellow the bench.

"I forgot about it." She blushed. "And besides, you really have to put more effort than that." She stung and he grinned at her.

"I promise."

"Great." She slid her hand from his yet again. "Goodbye."

"Wait! Will I see you here, tomorrow?"

"At Sunset." She smiled. "I'll be here."

He smiled and closed the small gap between them, and kissed her chastely on the lips.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kelsey Winslow." He whispered to her ear and walked away.

She squealed and ran the entire way to the Aquabase.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** In which things begin to take a more of _heated_ direction…  
**Also, the fangirl in me couldn't help putting in a little reference to Sentai. I hate to explain it, but the Titanium Ranger doesn't originate in Sentai, it's a completely American character… Review, Please!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Three**

_"Don't make us do something we don't want to do." Carter. _

She rolled her eyes in her helmet. How typical.

_"Give me your best shot!"_

She nearly cracked up laughing! That Titanium ranger was sure out of one of those Japanese Sentai movies**.

He so easily kicked Carter aside, maneuvered Joel with a frontal kick, aimed a fist to her side, flung Chad away as if he was a small stone and Dana? He grabbed her, flung her at the ground and aimed an iron fist to her chest that knocked the winds of breath out of her.

They met the Titanium Ranger three times throughout that day and Kelsey couldn't avoid thinking that the Power Rangers have met their match. The horrible thing was that they didn't know a single thing about his identity. Heck, she could map out the Power zones in the body of his suit, but she did not know who he was.

The immediate result was that the streets of Mariner Bay were no longer a safe place. Kelsey was disappointed with herself.

When finally they've reached the Aquabase when it seemed Mr. Bad Guy was taking a break from terrorizing the city, Ms. Fairweather did not allow any of them to leave the Infirmary.

It was a long day, Kelsey was beaten pretty badly, but it was the thought of a certain spot overlooking the city and the Bay that made her feel better. Of course, with the company of a certain someone, too. And so, after a hot, relaxing bath and a large, double cheese pizza order delivered to her doorstep, Kelsey was refreshed enough to use her stealth skill.

Two hours before sunset, Kelsey worn black tights and her too-large-to-be-worn-not-as-a-pajama gray Gap sweater (her pajamas), she snuck out of her room; she needed the Rescue Rover because she was so exhausted she couldn't walk too long, and the keys were usually tossed someplace in the Rec Room. And so, holding her yellow and orange running shoes and while carefully looking both side of the hall, made a run for the Rec Room.

She managed to stand there for two seconds before she heard voice, so she immediately jumped under the table, shrinking to a ball.

"Well, you shouldn't be here. You need to _rest_, Dana!" Carter's voice.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black, now is it, _Carter_?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said sternly.

Like that would ever work on Dana, hah!

"_OW_! What did you do that for?"

"Teaching you a lesson. _You_ should go back to bed."

"As should you, Pink Ranger."

Are they going to keep dancing around each other for long?!

"I'll escort you to your room and I _swea_r I'll go back to mine straight after that."

"Okay, let me just get the keys to the Rescue Rover."

Oh, no!

"Leave them, you don't need them anyway."

Thank you, oh, glorious, leader!

"You're right."

Their footsteps echoed as they left the room and headed to their respective rooms. Kelsey got out of her hiding and grabbed the keys, stuffing them in her hoodie's front pocket before pulling the hoodie on and racing out of the Aquabase.

"Free at last!" She breathed as she jumped into the Rescue Rover, started it and drove it, happily, to Mariner Bay Park. Once she had the Rover parker at the lot, she turned to put on her shoes and locked the car with a click.

A moment later she has started the now tiring climb toward the Observation Point; it was funny how she never gave thought to the effort that was needed for that climb, it was so natural to be able to do the littlest things with no effort and now, tired and beaten, it took so much of her strength. She never felt like that, weak, defeated.

She knew they will defeat the Titanium Ranger someday, someday soon, for sure. Still, the effort of trying to defeat him was the one draining their strengths and that was very dangerous to Mariner Bay.

Huffing and puffing, she sat on the bench, fighting to catch her breath; her muscles were tense and aching, and the large sweater was used not only to keep her muscles warm but also, to hide the marks. She had a few dozens of black and blues all over her body, from the fighting itself, from falling after being flung to the air and she didn't want him to see them. Of course, they would be gone by tomorrow morning, but tomorrow is a whole new day of struggle.

She folded her legs so that her knees supported her chin and let her eyes sink into the lovely view in front of her. The colorful skies, the sunrays dancing upon the waves and the liveliness of a city preparing for the night;

Mariner Bay was a city worth fighting for.

"Missed me?"

She turned her head and grinned.

"Ryan!" She rose to her feet in an instant.

"I got cookies and – " He stopped, dropped the bag he was carrying and frowned as he turned to look at her.

"What?" She asked, "Is there something on my face?"

"Come here, please." He asked softly and she walked closer to him.

"Who hurt you?"

"What do you mean?" She felt _so_ embarrassed, forgetting the bruise marks on her cheeks and forehead! "Oh, you mean the - - "

" - bruises, yes. Who did this to you? Tell me, so I could break him to pieces." He was serious and a little threatening with this almost insane sparkle to his eyes when he's asked her who hurt her.

"No one, I – um, sort of train in Martial Arts and today was a really hard one."

He nodded.

"I train in the combat arts as well." He touched her cheek gently. "I want to kiss your bruises, will you let me?"

She flushed and nodded.

He took her hands and led her to their bench gently, seating her and drawing closer to her. He kissed her forehead, his lips warm on her skin, gentle and smooth, right above her nose, in the corner of her eye, her left temple, her chin.

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the sensation.

He kissed both her cheeks, just below her right ear, a spot on her lower neck.

She shivered, how was it possible to be so hot and so cold altogether?

"Are you cold, my beauty?"

"Yes, no, not sure." She opened her eyes and found out he was staring at her with a sweet smile.

"Which is it?"

She sucked in a deep breath.

"No." He seemed pleased with her answer and touched her cheek again. He had this soft look in his black eyes, something that made them look warmer. She liked that. She liked that he cared about her so much that he want to hurt the man who hurt her, that he bothered to kiss every bruise (what would he say if she took off her sweater and revealed the full extent of her bruises?), that he was gentle and protecting and how he gave her a feeling of safety in this chaotic, unsafe world.

"Shall we take – "

She touched his cheek, it was smooth and clean, and she traced his features gently; his lips, his nose, at that point he closed his eyes and let her fingers run wild, his long lashes and soft dark blond hair.

In a daring move, she kissed him, crushing her lips to his, gently teasing his lips open with her tongue and enjoying the sweet warmth of him. He kissed her back demandingly, in an intensity and passion of someone who was so eager to love and be loved in return.

They kissed until she saw stars erupting in her mind and she pulled back, panting;

"You're like a fire, Kelsey, you burn within me." He told her, trying to catch his breath as well.

"I don't know what is it in you that makes me feel so…" She stopped, searching for the right word;

"What?"

"Free." She smiled and he smiled right back, leaning in for another long, wet kiss.

He pulled back this time. "Enough, I don't want the milk to sour and the cookies to lose their warmth."

She grinned, surprised. "You brought Milk and Cookies? Really?"

"Yes." He smiled and pulled a glass bottle wrapped in a layer of towels to keep warm, and a box that seemed full to the brim with cookies.

"It's my favourite." She blushed.

"Really, now?" He stared into her eyes and she stared right back.

"Yes, really." She smiled.

"Good, because it's my favourite, too." He winked and she giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, I had the worst day ever and this is cheering me up a lot." She was dead serious and she could see he knew it.

"I'm happy I can do this for you, I enjoy watching you laugh." He said as he poured milk into two glasses and handed one to her. She took it and put it aside, she gestured to take his and he gave his glass to her and turned to open the cookie box.

She has taken the box, too, and put it aside, and turned to him and hugged him, wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and burying her face in his neck. She inhaled his scent, rich, manly and sandalwood; his heart beat strongly and steadily in his chest and then his arms came to wrap around her. They supported her back and pushed her gently against him, and when she lifted her head to look into his eyes, he buried his face in her neck, kissing her skin.

She shuddered at the sensation;

"Cold again?" He asked and pushed her a little firmer against him.

She yelped as his arm pressed a spot where she has been injured.

He froze and pulled back.

"No, Ryan, it's – " She struggled with her words and recognizing that as her weakness, she pulled off her gray sweater, staying in a simple, white tank top.

She shivered.

"You're cold." He said quietly and bent to his bag, taking out a tartan blanket. "I thought we might want to stay here a little after sunset."

He wrapped the blanket around her, making sure it's wrapping her securely, before handing her glass of milk and the box of cookies. He eyed her bruises gravely and she could tell it infuriated him. She felt almost guiltily.

"Are you angry that I didn't tell you about these?"

"No, I'm trying not to think of all the things I want to do to the man who gave them to you." He said through gritted teeth.

She smiled.

"Tell me about your travels instead." She asked, watching him taking his glass of milk and throwing it away in fury.

"Will you let me kiss your bruises away?"

"Only if you tell me, Ryan."

He smiled.

"I promise." He whispered and she offered her left hand to him, he chuckled and kissed a bruise right at her wrist.

"When I was eighteen," He kissed her elbow. "I was sent to train at a special dojo," He kissed the inside of her arm. "At the Himalayas, in Nepal." He kissed her shoulder. "To get to said dojo, I had to," He kissed the base of her neck. "Climb Lhotse." He kissed her left shoulder. "The dojo was in the middle of nowhere, and," He kissed her inner left arm. "To my surprise, an old man insisted," He kissed her left palm. "On walking with me in return of some food."

"Let me see your back, lean against me and wrap the blanket around your front."

She nodded and did as he asked.

"Keep telling!" She urged and he smiled, his smile disappearing as he saw her back. She was as spotted as a leopard!

"I don't like these, Kelsey." He whispered as he kissed her neck, making her head fall back against his shoulder, her eyes closed.

"Are you sure you know how to fight?"

That has made her yes open up immediately and she turned to face him;

"Don't ever doubt my abilities, Ryan Hunters." She narrowed her eyes at him and he smiled. How dare he even consider she was not an able fighter? An able woman? How dare he suggest she could not protect herself?

Yes, the Titanium Ranger was one hell of a piece of work but damn it, they will defeat that bastard! She had no shade of a doubt in _that_.

"That rival of yours beat you _everywhere_. Shall I dare you to show me your legs?"

She blushed.

"I'm fine."

"This is not fine. I want a name."

"So _you _could go after him? I don't think so, I can take care of myself." She said and grabbed her sweater and slipped it on quickly, to his admiring eyes.

"I should go." She said, offended.

"No, don't go." He begged.

"Ryan, – "

"I worry for you." He whispered and that has melted all the walls she had managed to build since he doubted her. "I want to protect you."

"Thank you, but I really can take care of myself." She said quietly and touched his cheek. "I have people protecting me, the Power Rangers, remember?"

He tensed.

"According to their latest performance I highly doubt that." He said coolly.

"What?"

"If the Red Ranger was any more square-like, I could fit him into a pile of bricks." Ryan rolled his eyes and Kelsey smiled despite herself.

"He does seem to have that squareness…" She mumbled to herself, but then remembered it's her friend he's abusing. "I love the Power Rangers, so don't talk this way about them near me."

"I don't want to talk about them at all." He said quickly. "Sit with me."

"I should go, I'm tired, I've had a long day…" she could feel the entire day's toll engulfing her, weighing on her shoulders, above her eyes.

"Kelsey, let me finish my story and kiss all of the bruises."

"No, Ryan, I'm tired and I just want to go home."

"Have I… hurt you?" His eyes seemed glazed.

"No, not at all." She swallowed, but her feelings threatened to overflow her. "I had an awful day and I just want to go to bed." Not to mention she would have to sneak the Rover and then sneak the keys back to the Rec Room and then herself to her bedroom.

"Come here." He opened his arms and she immediately came between them, burying her face bellow his chin. Overwhelmed with her own confusing emotions and the day's events, she started to cry.

He said nothing, just stroking her hair and rubbing her back in a non-verbal attempt to comfort her; he kissed her head and remembering her bruises, pressed her gently against him.

"I wish to kiss all of your bruises." Was all he offered her, but it was more than anyone has ever given her.

"I wish you could." She whispered, looking up at him with wet eyes.

"I'm sure I can." He kissed the tip of her nose.

She yawned.

"You need to rest." He said all of a sudden, as if only realizing it. "Let me just collect everything and I'll walk you."

"My car is in the lot."

"Do you want me to drive you home?"

"No, I'll have a cookie and do a couple of push ups, it always wakes me up." He smiled at her.

"Let's do a couple of push ups together, now. Come on."

She grinned at the challenge and they both disentangled and positioned themselves on their palms and toes.

"My count?" She offered.

"Sure."

"One." Kelsey descended till her elbows created an "L" shape, while Ryan descended ten centimeters from the ground and up again.

"Two." Once again Kelsey descended, feeling how her blood started rushing in her veins.

"Three." She watched how Ryan silently performed;

"Four." It didn't even look like he was putting any effort.

"Five." She let herself collapse on the grass now tired and pained, while Ryan waited for the next count. "Ryan, I can't do any more. My body hurts."

He nodded and got up on his feet, without his knees touching the ground;

"Come, my sweet, it's late for you." He said and offered his hands to help her up. She took them and stood next to him, smiling.

He spilled the milk and put the glass and bottle at his bag and hung it on one shoulder. Then, he handed her the box of cookies and wrapped the blanket around her.

"Ryan, what are you doing?"

"Keeping you warm." He smiled. "Let's go." He turned to lead away from their spot.

"Wait." She said and he stopped, she smiled and took his hand, entwining their fingers. "Let's go."

He kissed her hand and led her back to the lot; the walk back seemed a lot shorter than the walk to the Observation Point. Kelsey almost didn't want to be back with the car, or to go back to the Aquabase, or to be away from Ryan.

Eventually, they did reach the lot and Ryan stopped.

"Drive carefully, my beauty, good night and sleep tight." He breathed near her ear, and kissed her forehead.

"If tomorrow's like today, don't wake me up." She whispered and he kissed her lips chastely.

"Tomorrow will be a great day, you'll see."

"Kiss me."

He complied, sweetly, demandingly. "You…must…go…" He murmured to her lips between one kiss to another.

"It's hard to leave you."

"For me, too, but it's not safe here. Go home." She nodded almost blindly.

"Tomorrow?" She asked.

"At sunset." He answered and kissed her once again, before detaching abruptly and walking away. Kelsey walked to the rover and jumped inside, starting the car and driving back.

* * *

Later that night, Kelsey stood in her small bathroom and stared at her face in the mirror; there was not a bruise in sight, just as her arms and neck were bruise-free.

She never remembered the Power working this quickly, and on bruises, too.

Shrugging to herself, she returned to her bed, wrapping herself with the tartan blanket. It had his smell.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** This one is more of a filler, preparing for the next one ;)

I don't know how many of you are reading this. Either way, enjoy!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Four**

Captain Mitchell banned training until all rangers have gone under examination and evaluation of their current health condition and thus, Kelsey has been woken up by Chad, who was calling for breakfast from behind the door. A glance on the watch taught her it was ten o'clock in the morning and she grumbled and went to brush her teeth before marching to the Rec Room in her pajamas.

Carter, Dana and Chas were already sitting to the table.

"Morning, guys."

"Good morning, Kels!" Chad said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Kelsey!" Dana smiled.

"Morning." Carter nearly yawned as he read the newspaper.

"So what's on today's agenda?" She asked as she poured some cereals to a bowl and added milk.

"Physios. You need to be in the Infirmary at four O'clock."

"That's it?"

"Dad thinks we should save our strength to when the Titanium Ranger shows up again." Kelsey nodded her understanding.

"So, basically, I can go to sleep for another couple of hours and then do the physios and go skating?"

"Yes."

"Great! I so need a long rest after yesterday."

"Me, too; my fracture might've healed but my bruises don't seem to heal as fast." Dana complained. "I can't move."

Kelsey shrugged and concentrated at her cereal.

"I think I'm going Scuba Diving today." Chad said and turned to Kelsey. "Wanna come?"

"When do you want to go?"

"My Physio's at seven so around five or something?"

"Sounds great, it's right after mine." She smiled. "Meet you at the Ocean Room."

"Awesome, see you there. Well, I'm going to bed."

"Where's Joel?" Kelsey frowned;

"He insisted on having his Physio now. As in, _right now_." Chad said from the door.

"Yes, he thinks he can pull it off for a few hours." Dana nodded with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Ms. Fairweather is the examiner." Carter rolled his eyes.

Kelsey burst out laughing. "How long is he in there?"

"The last hour." Carter answered, checking his watch.

"Joel and I had a bet, that she kicks him out after two hours, but who knows, right?" Chad laughed. "Bye!"

"I'm not sure how I ended up with you, guys." Kelsey laughed and got up to wash her bowl. "I think I'll go jog in the park, I need fresh air."

"Are you sure?" Dana frowned. "Your body needs a rest."

"I need this." She shrugged. "See you later."

She walked to her room, throwing off her pajamas and putting on her white, short running pants and a yellow running shirt. Did her hair in a ponytail, put on her running shoes and grabbed her headphones and music player before heading off.

She started running in a moderate pace, not wanting to exhaust her body; she was running to clear her head and allow herself to breath fresh air with the benefit of exercising. Music was blaring in her ears and she let the rhythm lead her pace;

Ryan.

Three days ago he was a complete and utter stranger and now, not so much. She allowed him liberties she hasn't allowed anyone before; liberties with her body, with her mind… She never dreamt a relationship with a guy would be anything like this, demanding and yet full of freedom, honest and understanding, to be able to speak your mind no matter what the consequences are.

But then again, they've only met at sunset and only at their spot. Maybe he was just a dream, a hallucination triggered by the sun sinking away from MarinerBay? Suddenly, she realized she wanted more of this, from him;

She found herself standing on that hill, watching the city; the view looked completely other in daytime, and shouldn't she wonder whether Ryan was completely different in daytime? After all, she didn't know much about him. Maybe it was rash to give him so much of her in such a short time…

Maybe she just needed to meet him, in a daytime date.

She should ask him.

She turned away from he hill and quickly ran down it, aiming back, to the Aquabase when –

"Well, well, well, Yellow Ranger."

She barely managed to turn around when a wolf-like monster bit her left wrist, its teeth breaking her skin puncturing her wrist and break her bone. Kelsey felt nauseous at the sound of her bone breaking.

He let go when he heard that crack and Kelsey realized she needed, in spite of the pain, to use both her arms in order to Morph.

"Lightspeed, Rescue!" She screamed, not knowing whether from anger or pain, but soon enough a fully clothed yellow ranger was standing in front of the monster-beast. In a flash of an instant where she tried to call for help using her morpher, the monster knocked her down and bit the side of her stomach.

She cried out in agony.

Her suit shimmered off and she recognized the faint scent of blood.

She threw up but everything turned dark.

"Kelsey! We're coming!" Chad's voice woke her up. Her head hurt and she couldn't move anything. There was such chaos out of her head and such pain inside of it. She needed to sleep, a long forgetful nap.

The world faded again.

* * *

The strong monotonous beeps woke her up; she was in the Infirmary and all kinds of machines were attached to her through different tubes and needles. Nothing hurt, she noted faintly, but were the needles really necessary?

Kelsey hated needles.

She struggled to open her eyes and found Joel sitting, well, _sleeping_ on the chair next to her. He was holding her hand. She wanted to smile but her lips were hard to move.

She squeezed his hand and he jolted up immediately.

"Kelsey! Oh! Hello there, Cowgirl." He smiled at her.

She squeezed his hand again.

"Do you want anything? Water?"

She thought it would be nice and squeezed his hand twice. He got up and filled a glass with water, returning to her and with the help of a small cloth that he put in the glass, dabbed on her lips, a few drops of water managed to fall in her mouth and he did it again.

Her throat was so dry and it was slightly uncomfortable to swallow.

"Here." Joel took out a straw from his pocket and put in the water, then served the upper end of it to Kelsey's lips. She managed to take a few sips to wet her dry throat and felt better.

"Thanks." Her voice was still croaked.

"No problem, I'm so glad to see you up."

She smiled.

"I'm glad to be up. How long am I here?"

"Two days; your wrist is pretty banged up and the bite on your stomach is healing pretty well. Ms. Fairweather says it'll be completely gone by next week. It was really severe, you know."

"That thing caught me completely by surprise."

"He's gone, we had to nail him for what he did to you."

She grinned.

"It felt _so _good blasting that bitch's ass." Joel said, his face was worried; "It was the scariest thing in the world, coming to the park and seeing you like we did; you were completely out and there was blood everywhere."

He shuddered.

The park.

Ryan!

Oh, no…

"Joel, do you mind if I go back to sleep?"

"No, not at all. I'll go tell the guys, you rest." He said and kissed her forehead. "Get well soon, Kels."

"Thanks." She murmured and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep;

Ryan was probably waiting for her two nights in a row now, what would he think of her? He must be so worried… Let's face it, she couldn't go and see him for a while starting now, Ms. Fairweather will watch her in seven sets of eyes as long as she's here.

She had no way of contacting Ryan, not even his phone number!

How foolish was not asking for his number?

Frustrated, she needed a plan, a good, working, plan; maybe she could ask Chad to meet him at the park at sunset and tell him? Or a letter explaining everything to him. A letter was a good idea right? No.

A letter was impersonal and it would only worry him more.

Maybe she could ask Dana to take her to a stroll in the park, with a wheel chair or something, she could navigate to the observation point at sunset and surely, Dana would leave them both alone once she realizes… No.

Ryan was private. He was personal and so close to her that she didn't want to share him yet.

What if she snuck out again?

She wasn't sure if she could even stand.

How about she morphs and uses her Lightspeed Cycle? Morphing would keep her intact and good. Then again, the camera of the visor would probably document the whole, personal thing.

Damn it. Nothing was good enough, maybe she should just give up on trying? She'd go to the Observation when she physically could and face him. She hated the thought of him worried or anxious, but there was nothing she could do about it. Right?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** Well, well, well… this is getting serious!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Five**

Three days later, five days of not seeing Ryan, seventy two hours of endless choke-like babying and four thousands and three hundred and twenty minutes of being tied down to an infirmary bed, Kelsey was allowed to roam the Aquabase. Her stomach injury was fading by now and her wrist, well, it was still wrapped up in a lot of bandages but she was sure the Power would catch up soon after the stomach injury would fade.

Which meant she needed an escape route by the early afternoon.

Soon enough, she devised a plan.

She went to the Rec room for lunch, declaring she's intending on spending the rest of the day sleeping. Of course, everyone was very proud of her decision and swore not to bother her. She swallowed her lunch quickly and nearly sprinted back to her room. She dressed quickly; a pair of jeans, a white blouse, a yellow jacket and one cookie later she was sneaking outside.

Once she has managed to slip away from the Aquabase, she caught a bus to the Park. It only took fifty minutes to get from the Aquabase to the park by bus and Kelsey thought there were pins in her ass, she couldn't keep sitting like that. Honestly, busses were such a pain!

Sunset had already started when she first laid her foot on the park's grass and suddenly, she wasn't sure she was going to find Ryan there. They met three days and then she disappeared for three days, would he keep waiting for her? Her heart was hammering in her chest as she climbed up the hill to that observation point;

He was pacing from one side of the hill to the other, hands behind his back, his head looking down at his feet; he was only wearing a black wife beater on top of black jeans while a gray button on shirt was thrown on the bench.

"Hi." She said, putting her bandaged wrist behind her back and he froze, looking up, at her.

"Kelsey." He whispered and walked to her. He stopped inches away, his eyes seeking something in hers. She didn't understand; didn't he miss her? He hasn't even made the tiniest effort to welcome her, to touch her; only stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"What happened?" He said sharply.

"I – " She never gave thought to an explanation, her breath got stuck in her throat and she said nothing. How could she explain being a ranger to him? He clearly did not like the Power Rangers… He circled her, examining every inch of her body. She felt like a prey and he was the predator, she felt slightly intimidated by his aggressive behavior.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of her, cupping her face in both of his hands. His black eyes seemed to move with emotion so strong that she couldn't look away;

"Give me a name." He begged her.

"Ryan – " She begged as well.

He fell to his knees in front of her, holding her by the waist and resting his head on her stomach gently. "I can't bear this, who did this to you?"

His voice was broken, like he was almost crying.

"It was a monster."

"How did it look?"

"It had a few qualities of a wolf or a dog..."

"Wolfabeast." He murmured.

"He bit my stomach, too." She whispered and Ryan looked up and his fingers slid under the hems of her blouse, lifting it and revealing the healing wound.

"He's lucky he's already gone." Ryan growled. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." She looked down at him, his finger touched her belly button ring. "This is distracting." She admitted with a blush, her fingers touching his, stopping him.

"Me, as well." He commented lazily and kissed her belly button, inserting his tongue.

She laughed. "What are you doing?" She pushed him away a little, trying to take control over those little chills that ran all over when he touched her like this. Intimately.

"Very distracting." He murmured and pressed his lips against the flesh of her stomach, trailing small kisses to the small and now shallow punctures on her skin. He kissed each of them gently, making her shudder and hold his shoulders.

"You have the most enticing skin."

"Excuse me?"

"So pretty and smooth," He kissed her right above the belly button. "You smell so good and the taste is like Joss Flower and Jasmine, sweet and aromatic."

To prove his point he licked a line on her belly, making her giggle.

"It tickles!"

He smirked and rose to his feet, holding his arms open and she grinned and entered between his arms. He kissed her temple;

"I was so worried." He whispered to her.

"I only woke up yesterday and it had taken me a whole day to escape all of my friends to get here."

"A job well done."

She laughed. "They didn't want to let me out of the Infirmary! Afraid I'd go skating with my broken wrist."

"Is this what that is?" His fingers touched the cast gently.

"Yes."

"I'm not sure if I'm happy that Wolfabeast is destroyed, or if I want him to be alive so I could finish him off myself."

She smiled. "Thanks, Ryan, but that's why we have the Power Rangers. They took care of him."

"I hope they made sure it hurts him, but for some reason I think not."

She slapped his shoulder. "Enough."

"I promise." He smiled and led her to the bench. "Let's sit, I failed to bring anything of use." His cheeks burned a little and she took his hand in hers as she turned to face him on the bench.

"Did you doubt I was coming?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry." She felt guilty. "I slept for two days and when I did wake up, I didn't know how to reach you."

"I'll teach you how." He kissed her hand. "Imagine me standing right in front of you, think of my name and send me your words in a thought."

She gave him a doubtful look;

"Try." He challenged.

She closed her eyes and thought of him standing right there next to her, she saw his face and that dimple when he smiles, _Ryan, you completely lost it._

"I did not, I am as clear as water." He said and she flushed.

_This is not really working, is it?_

"I can hear your every word, Kelsey. It is working." He grinned. "Tell me something that no one knows."

_I couldn't help but notice how fast my bruises healed._

He smirked. "I told you I would kiss them all away."

She blushed. "How can you do this? The telepathy, I mean."

"It's just a matter of practicing your magic." He shrugged. "Everyone has it, but not everyone knows how to tap into that place inside." He kissed her hand.

"I jogged all the way here in the morning and just as I turned to leave, it attacked me." She whispered.

"Here?"

"Yes, I knew it would be different at daytime and it was. Everything was just so lively, I still missed you." She said with a smile, slightly embarrassed at her own admittance. He stared at her, his eyes searching hers.

"I want us to meet in daylight, too," He said quietly. "And I don't want to lose this, Kelsey, our sunsets are what I look forward to in each day."

"Mine, too." She blushed and he chuckled and touched her cheek.

"I want more than that." She sighed and he smiled.

"Come sailing with me this Saturday."

"Okay." She felt shy. "My wrist?"

"It'll heal by then." He smiled, watching her taking one of his hands in both of hers; she traced the lines of his palm, touching the hard skin that felt so good against her soft skin. She then took his hand and kissed it, looking into his eyes.

He let his hand stroke her cheek as it slipped from hers; "Come here…" He murmured and kissed her in his conquering nature, taking all that she has offered and giving her so much of himself in the process.

She clung to him, her injured hand rest on his exposed shoulder while the other wrapped around his neck. One of his arms pressed her against him while the other supported her head.

"Uncomfortable." She murmured to his lips.

He pulled back a little and sat lower on the bench, the patted his thighs. "Sit, if you're brave."

She smirked, blushing, as she moved to his lap, her knees resting on the bench; she kissed him demandingly.

"I'm very brave." She breathed.

"I can tell." He smiled and nipped at the skin of her neck. "Shall I leave a mark?"

He teased. She smiled faintly, looking down at his smirking;

She captured his eyes with hers; it was strange how his eyes were coal black, so black anyone would've mistaken to think them emotionless, but she knew better. The way his eyes seemed to caress her in when he looked at her and the way they responded to whatever she said, expressing empathy or even fury when someone had hurt her… it was the answer to everything; her proof that this, he, was real and this was not a dream.

"Nothing is prettier than your eyes at sunset." He touched her chin gently.

She blushed, looking down from his eyes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, nervously.

"What do you do, for a living I mean?" She asked all of a sudden;

"I work for my father."

"Oh." She breathed. "Is it interesting?"

"It's…fulfilling. I've seen the world and now I'm back here, to help him." He smiled. "I'm glad I'm here now."

"Me, too."

He smiled at her.

"Maybe you'd like to grab something to eat with me?"

"Like, now?" She suggested.

"Yes, now," He chuckled. "I'm hungry."

"Sure." She smiled. "Does it mean I have to go down now?" She indicated at his lap.

"I would say."

"Then, no." She smirked.

"No?" He raised his eyebrows. "You're teasing." He blamed.

She laughed. "I'm kind of comfortable."

"Are you now, Kelsey Winslow?"

She nodded. "Mhmm…"

His arms that supported her waist slid lower to her butt, squeezing a little, he pushed her against him so that she could feel the hardness in his jeans. She blushed.

"Aren't you embarrassed?"

"For wanting you? No." His eyes were hard and honest. "For my body showing just how much I do? No."

She looked away and he touched her chin and gently turned her to him again;

"I'm trying to take this slow, but I won't deny the truth." He talked quietly.

"What if I'm not…?"

It didn't seem to push him away or frighten him;

"I'm showing you because I want you to know, and I'm also giving you the choice – "

"What if you need this and I can't - ?" She stuttered.

"Need what, Sex?"

She nodded, blushing;

"I'll always want you, and I'm taking this slow, because I wish for you to want me the same way."

"Do you think I don't?" She frowned at him;

"I don't know, it's your decision to make." He shrugged and she felt embarrassed and out of place and exposed. How did she get to a situation when she speaks with Ryan about Sex?! For crying out loud, they didn't even have an official date, so Sex…?

"You're uncomfortable." He stated.

"I don't speak about Sex as often as you might think." She stung.

He grinned. "Sex is a great fun and it's even better with someone you're attached to."

"I know."

"When you trust me enough – "

"It's not that I don't – "

He put two fingers on her lips, stopping her from trying to explain.

"Kelsey, you don't need to explain this to me." He gave her a small smile, not angry or demanding, a sweet, reassuring smile. "You don't and I'm okay with that."

He paused for a moment, letting it sink into her mind.

"I'm here and I'll be here when you do, and I know that'll be great fun." He smirked at her creeping blush and touched her coloured cheeks.

"Your cheeks look like roses when you blush." He grinned. "It's lovely."

Her mind was buzzing with all that he had said to her, still trying to process his words and their meaning. This entire conversation's meaning in the aspect of this relationship with him; absently her fingers played with the neckline of his tank top, dancing upon his skin;

"Feels nice." He told her quietly, waking her from deep thoughts of freedom and moralities.

She smiled at him and kissed his lips briefly before descending from his lap.

"Did you say something about dinner? I'm just about starving."

He grinned and got up from the bench. "Italian sounds good?"

"Yep." He took her hand in his, entwining their fingers.

"My bike's just down there." He pointed at a spot down below them; it was the other side of the park, on the contrary direction from which Kelsey always walked and returned from.

"Shall we?" He asked and kissed her hand.

"Yes." She smiled and then looked at him. "And Ryan?"

He stared at her questioningly and she walked up to him and kissed his lips briefly. "Thanks for being honest with me."

He smiled and kissed her just as well.

"Come on, Kelsey, I'm hungry." He dragged her after him.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed it. Lots of Sexual tension to come :) Leave a review to let me know what you think. Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** In which we have some smuttiness.

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Six**

Today Kelsey had woken up with a huge smile on her face!

This past week has been incredible: the Titanium Ranger was nowhere in sight and despite a monster or two that terrorized the city (and were destroyed moments later, really); her wrist healed so fast that even Ms. Fairweather was in shock; she went scuba diving with Chad twice, got to see Marina and even went flying with Joel; but mostly because Ryan and her got to spend every sunset together and even went to a coupe of dinner dates, which were amazing and made her giggle madly at just the thought of them. And that lovely sunrise ride on Ryan's bike yesterday.

And the best part was yet to come: a full day of sailing!

The immediate change in her mood and her lifted spirit, raised a few eyebrows in the Rec Room to which she only answered by grinning mysteriously, but she couldn't hide her happiness for long and especially not from her pink clad friend. Besides, Kelsey needed an advice about the clothes she was going to pick for the aforementioned sailing, not to mention a decent swimsuit!

So this day, Kelsey took a deep breath as she entered the Rec Room in hopes of finding Dana there.

Not surprisingly, Carter was there, too.

Kelsey rolled her eyes.

It wasn't like they hung out or dated or anything, but you could so see they had something going on. It was nerve-wrecking sometimes, when was Carter ever going to make a move?! He obviously adored Dana to the point of sacrificing whole afternoon's worth of Fire Rescue Drills.

Okay, this time she had to be a little rude to Carter; she'd apologized, of course! It was just that he was, well, Carter, and his opinion in fashion wasn't considered no matter how you looked at it...

"Hey, guys." She smiled and sat next to Dana who was reading something;

"Hey, Kels." Carter said while reading _Fifty Important Things You Must Know about Fire_.

"Kelsey!" Dana put her magazine aside and put her arm around Kelsey. "What's up?"

"I really need your opinion about something." Kelsey swallowed. "Do you think you could help me?"

"Of course, I'd be happy to. What is it about?"

"Well," Kelsey blushed. "Can we go to my room? Sorry, Carter, but it's a girl thing."

"No problem." Came his stiff reply; he wasn't happy about it, huh?

"Sure, let's go."

Dana and Kelsey got up and walked to Kelsey's room. Kelsey wasn't sure why she was so nervous, updating Dana on what's up was never as nerve wrecking as it is today and it was just stupid to feel that way. Dana was her best friend in the entire world.

Once inside Kelsey's room, the two sat on her bed after throwing down their shoes.

"What's up, Kels?" Dana's soft brown eyes seemed calm and confident and Kelsey felt herself relaxing.

"Well…" She started, a little hesitated. "You're my best friend and there's something you should know."

Kelsey felt her cheeks heat while Dana nodded expectantly.

"I met this guy…"

Dana squealed and hugged her. "Oh, Kelsey!"

Kelsey laughed, completely relaxing against the pink ranger; now it seemed absurd that she was nervous earlier!

"This is so great!" Dana smiled with shining eyes. "How long are you seeing him?"

"Two weeks." Kelsey smiled shyly. "It's been amazing." She admitted.

"I'm so happy this happened to you! You of all people should have that special someone."

"I know, me too. You should meet him, he's so fun and smart and protective…" Kelsey couldn't help that dreamy tone to her voice.

"Athletic?"

"Of course! He works out and likes rock climbing and adventures."

"Wow, it seems you found just the right guy for you, Kelsey."

"Yeah," She blushed. "We are sort of synched in our tastes."

"Where did you go out to already?"

"Well, we had dinner once, but mostly we just meet up at the park at sunset. It's sort of our thing, watch the sunset together while talking…"

"Making out?" Dana asked shamelessly.

Kelsey had to laugh.

"That, too."

Dana laughed, making Kelsey blush furiously.

"So, what do you need my help when you are clearly much more successful with romance than I am?"

Kelsey frowned; it wasn't like Dana to be cynical and yes, that _was_ cynical coming from _Dana_ of all people.

"Carter's giving you the cold shoulder? What's up?"

Dana sighed; she stared at her feet, playing with her hot pink pedicure.

"No, he's just…being Carter, I guess." Dana's tone was so sad that Kelsey's heart went out to her. "My dear, cold hearted, distant, stuck up, Carter Grayson."

"It's the first time you've admitted to like him." Kelsey teased gently.

Dana blushed.

"Yes, well, there's no use in denying it any longer. Everyone can tell and he's…"

"Let me guess: he's going all _I'm the red ranger and inter-team relationships are out of bounds_ over your ass?"

Dana laughed, in tears; "Yeah, that's Carter."

Kelsey hugged her. "Oh, Dana, that _is_ Carter." She rubbed her pink friend's back. "Did you ever expect it to be different?"

"I don't know!" Dana wiped a few tears, pulling away from their hug. Kelsey took a Kleenex box from her nightstand and handed to Dana. "I knew it's not going to be easy and that Carter can be so anal retentive, but I can't change who I'm in love with. He's the guy." Dana shrugged.

"But you love it about him, that's he's strict and by the book and sort of geeky."

"Not when it tears us apart." Dana blew her nose. "We spent so much time together, training or talking or just hanging out and it's so clear, how much I want him, but when it comes to express feelings or show affection or even caring! Nothing seems to go through to him."

"Did you talk to him?"

"I can't."

"You should." Kelsey said softly. "Listen, Dana, you should be honest with him. Tell him what you feel and see how he responds. Maybe it's hard for him to express his emotions, I used to have a hard time about it, with Ryan, I mean."

She spoke enthusiastically, as if explaining a thesis.

"One day Ryan and I talked. Ryan was so sincere and honest about his feelings and opinions, that it gave me the courage and the confidence to do the same, you know?"

Dana nodded.

"You should woman up and tell Carter. Don't give up on him."

Dana looked into Kelsey's eyes.

"If he turns you down, he's not worth the effort anyway, so just…try."

Dana hugged Kelsey.

"You came to ask me for help and in the end you helped me! I love you, Kels."

"Love you, too, Dana." Kelsey squeezed her. "But I still need your help."

"What is it?" Dana pulled back, slightly red eyes blinking at Kelsey.

"Ryan and I are going sailing tomorrow and all I have to wear is my racing swimsuit."

"Oh." Dana frowned. "Do you want to borrow anything of mine?"

"I don't think we're the same size and I don't like to wear pink all that much." Kelsey explained.

Dana's eyes lit in a crazy spark.

"Shopping!"

* * *

Kelsey was horrified: shopping with Dana was even worse than fighting against the Titanium Ranger himself in a deserted island surrounded by sharks. Starving sharks.

Kelsey was helplessly dragged to the nearest shopping mall. Dana made her look at so many shades of yellow that Kelsey was starting to get dizzy; there was Saffron and Naples Yellow, Gold and Sun Glow and so many other shades, it was insane! How was she supposed to pick?

They went into a Roxy store but whatever Dana suggested seemed revealing and over-the-top, it wasn't sexy, it was slutty! The more they looked, the more Kelsey was convinced she was never going to find another swimsuit, bikinis were showing too much, tankini seemed either childish or elderly and there was not a one piece swimsuit that was decent in sight.

And then, Dana got pissed.

Which resulted in Kelsey having to try out every suit Dana had picked out for her, instead of just commenting on how much they weren't to her tastes'. Kelsey was freakishly afraid of Dana at that stage and tried everything.

Including a bikini suit.

And then Dana learnt of her belly button ring.

Which resulted in her determining Kelsey _must_ wear a bikini, to show off her ring.

Kelsey cursed under her breath as they moved to O'Neill's.

And Gottex.

And Victoria's Secret. Who knew Victoria's Secret had swimsuits, right?

She stood next to Dana who was skimming through the tons of tops at the shop: there were halter tops and push ups, triangles and bandeau and Kelsey tried them all. Eventually she decided the halter top is the solid one, not making her seem too trying and still looking quite sexy and beautiful. She picked an Amber toned one that had silver gems decorating the halter right below her shoulders. She matched amber coloured bottoms that had a silvery round buckles at her hip bones.

"Perfect!" Dana sighed contentedly.

Kelsey peered at herself in the mirror, uncertain;

"It shows too much of my – "

"Oh, hush, you! It's amazing, you look beautiful! We're getting this!"

"But Dana, you can see my – "

"Sssh! It's pretty and sexy. Go change, you're buying this." Dana commanded in her no-argument tone and Kelsey knew she had to suck it up, be a woman and get the damned bikini.

After getting it, Dana suggested getting some lunch and the two headed to the food section at the mall. Dana was inclined on pasta while Kelsey preferred Thai noodles. They sat together, munching about;

"Tell me about Ryan, until I talk to Carter, I must experience my love life through you." Dana sighed and Kelsey laughed.

"He's a really sweet, sensitive guy and I like him a lot." Kelsey shrugged.

"How much is 'a lot' to you?"

"I don't know. A lot. Like you like Carter, I guess." Kelsey snickered to herself, watching as Dana's face grew, well, _pink_.

"_Love_ like?" Dana raised her eyebrows and Kelsey crimsoned.

"Maybe."

"Maybe yes?" Dana teased.

Kelsey stopped for a moment, did she love Ryan? Was it too soon to tell? She wasn't really sure, only that she really _really_ liked him, that he made her feel so…liberated and protected and cared for. Calling it 'love' now was a little too early for their relationship, it stressed her out and so, she decided to let herself enjoy the moment and wait for the answers to appear.

"It's all very new to me, so I'm taking this slow. _We're_ taking this slow." Kelsey explained. "When I know I love him, I'll tell him."

"Awww! That's so sweet!"

Kelsey laughed. "He deserves it, trust and honesty."

"Did you guys...?" Dana wiggled her eyebrows, making Kelsey blush.

"No." She admitted; it wasn't like her to speak about such intimate details with anyone. Still, she thought that having Dana know would ease her mind a little. "We talked about it, he wants me that way and I'm not there yet."

"What do you mean?"

"It's all so strange and exciting for me and I need time to get used to this."

"Oh." Dana blinked. "Have you ever…?"

"No." Kelsey blushed furiously now.

"Well, it's natural to be insecure about your first time." Dana shrugged. "What did Ryan say?"

"That I'm the one to decide." Kelsey smiled.

"That's sweet." Dana smiled. "Do it on your own time, Kels, don't let him pressure you."

"He's not."

"Good, and use protection. If you need anything, let me know, I have access to whatever you may need at the Clinique."

"Thanks, Dana." Kelsey smiled. Each of the pair focused at her food for a few moments, maybe to allow Kelsey to gain her composure back and her cheeks to cool.

Kelsey grinned as her eyes zoomed in on a tall, broad shouldered, dirty blond haired with quite the athletic build guy making his way into a shop. She concentrated on Ryan's smile, his dimple…

_Any chance I've just seen you at the Mall?_

Seriously doubting that it worked, Kelsey took a few bites from her noodles.

_Yes, are you here?_

She choked on her noodles and started coughing; Dana quickly jumped and patted her back to help her. A few moments later she coughed out a piece of pepper that went the wrong way and drank some water.

It does work!

_Yes, I'm sitting with a friend at the food section, right in front of Giovanni's._

_Great, I'll come over and say hi._

"Are you okay?" Dana frowned as she made her way back to her seat.

"I'm fine, food went down the wrong way." Kelsey smiled apologetically.

Dana laughed. "Be careful."

"Yes, it doesn't happen a lot." Kelsey blushed slightly.

"Tell me more about Ryan!" Dana asked enthusiastically.

"What do you want to know?" Kelsey was highly amused at her friend's curiosity.

"Let's see…when am I going to meet him?"

Kelsey laughed.

"In about a minute."

"What?!"

"Yes, he's right over there." Kelsey pointed at the approaching Ryan and Dana turned to see him; Ryan smirked and quickly closed the gap between them.

"Hello." He smiled and slid to the seat next to Kelsey, kissing her temple.

"Hi." Kelsey smiled at him.

"Hey, nice to meet you, I'm Dana." Dana offered her most charming smiled and her hand. Ryan shook it and smiled a crooked smile.

"Ryan Hunters, pleased to meet you."

"So, you're the mysterious boyfriend." Dana did not waste any time.

"Oh, I'm definitely the boyfriend." He agreed charmingly and Kelsey blushed, it was the first time he presented himself as such and she had no idea he wanted them to be exclusive. Not that she didn't want that herself or anything.

"Don't know about mysterious though." He added with a slight frown.

"Kelsey doesn't tell me anything these days." Dana smiled sweetly, making Kelsey roll her eyes; "Where are you going tomorrow?"

Ryan smirked. "Sailing."

"Where to?"

"Depends on the wind."

"Oh, it's a sailboat."

"Yes, you usually _sail_ with a _sailboat_, Dana." He chuckled and Dana laughed.

Kelsey smiled as she watched the two of them interacting; she was happy that Dana managed to have a conversation with him and that she made him laugh. Her two worlds were slowly turning into one. She liked that thought.

"Ryan! I thought it was one of these boats that have engines, so you could sail to Turtle Cove."

"Actually, I was thinking of Blue Bay Harbor."

She ate her noodles slowly now, not interfering; yes, they seemed to get along great.

"Kelsey, why are you so quiet?"

"Sorry I was just…thinking." She smiled and put her noodles aside. "What were you talking about?"

"I told Dana I want to invite you to rock climb with me in Stone Canyon next Saturday and she said it's not romantic enough."

"North East?"

"No, North West. You know, where the mountains separate Angel Grove from Stone Canyon."

"Oh, there are tons of caves there."

"Yes, I'll show you my favorite one and we could light a fire and camp there."

"Boring!" Dana chirped in.

Kelsey laughed. "No, that's actually great, Dana."

"But is it romantic?"

Ryan stared at Kelsey expectantly.

"Depends." Kelsey grinned.

"You're avoiding." Ryan smirked.

"I'm not avoiding, I'm evading. I recognized the trouble and smartly walked away from it." Kelsey explained and Dana smiled.

"Nicely done, Kels."

"Thanks."

"Well, I should head back. I promised Carter to help with redecorating his room so…" Dana shrugged. "Want me to take your stuff? It's almost Sunset."

"Yes, thanks, Dana." Kelsey smiled and handed her the bag. Dana winked.

"Nice to meet you, Ryan, bye."

"Same. Drive carefully." Ryan smiled fully and Kelsey watched Dana leaving.

"Sunset, huh?" Ryan asked Kelsey pointedly.

"Oh, shut it, it was really nice of her." Kelsey put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll tell you what wasn't very nice." He said teasingly.

"Yes?"

"I didn't get a kiss." He crossed his arms on his chest. "Not happy."

Kelsey laughed.

"I'm eating."

"I don't care."

"Very mature." She rolled her eyes and he laughed and kissed her lips briefly, making her sigh longingly when he pulled away.

"You're funny, Kelsey." She smiled at that.

"I kinda like to see you laugh, it's a pretty laugh."

"Thank you." He smiled. "We should head back, the sunset?"

She nodded and rose from her seat, collecting her food box and threw it in the nearest garbage can on their way out.

A quick motorbike ride later and they were in the park, Ryan's jacket on their bench, watching the changing colours of the skies;

"This is majestic." He said wondrously; his black eyes almost sparkled at the view. They were both standing on the edge of the hill, holding hands and taking in the marvelous view of the city slowly wrapped by dark blue blanket covered with stars.

"So magical." Kelsey murmured and squeezed his hand.

He smiled and tore his eyes to look at her. His eyes had that emotional glaze you get when you're overwhelmed and Kelsey's heart stopped for a moment at the dreaminess of this appearance.

"I feel like I'm in a dream."

He grinned at her words.

"No, this is real." He kissed her hand. "I'm real, you're real."

She blushed.

"Would you go with me next Saturday? Rock climbing in Stone Canyon?"

She smiled and turned to look at him;

"Maybe you should convince me." She teased and this time he smirked.

"Well, my favourite cave has a Jacuzzi."

"A Jacuzzi? Really?" She smiled doubtfully at him.

"Yes. It'll be great!" His eyes gleamed and Kelsey had to bite down a smirk. Sometimes, it was just too easy!

"Well… I'm not sure." She said and Ryan gave her a look, frowning; then he smirked.

"Please?" He kissed her lips briefly.

"Mhmm.. I don't know."

"Please?" He kissed her chin.

"Please?" Her neck.

"Please?" That spot behind her ear that made her all tingly and shivery.

He bit her earlobe gently and licked his way down to her collar bone. "Will you come with me to Stone Canyon?"

"I don't know…" She barely remembered her name as his lips fluttered against her skin gently.

"Kelsey, please…" His voice was soft and still, so sultry and inviting. It was hard saying no to him, but she tried. Let him work it up a bit!

"I'm sure Dana would be in my favor." He told her gently as he pulled back.

Who?

She opened her eyes, the loss of his heat and closeness made her blink and look for him. He was grinning.

"Well?" He crossed his arms on his chest.

"I'd love to." She smiled at him and he seemed pleased;

"It's my favourite place upon the Earth." He smiled. "I'm sure you'll love it, the view is spectacular and I almost had the cave redecorated."

A cave, redecorated? That was kind of interesting…

He smiled at her, gently pulling her close to him and wrapping an arm around her. He led her to the bench where they sat; she rested her head on his shoulder, staring at the dying colour of the skies; it was lovely in a sad kind of way now, how darkness took over and the warmth left the world… but she had Ryan to keep her warm and safe and loved.

He said nothing, just let her be, with him. He didn't require her to talk or think or feel, just to be herself. He respected her just as she was and she appreciated it and loved him for it. It was elating to be cared for just as you are. She wanted to do the same for him, to be there for him whenever he needed to, however he needed her.

He made her feel perfect with his silent confidence and adoring eyes.

She raised her head a little to look at him and smiled, burying her face in his neck.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked quietly, kissing her head.

"I feel really lucky to have you." She stared at him and he wasn't smiling; his dark eyes had a thoughtful expression.

"It has nothing to do with luck. We were meant for this, us." He took her hand in his, entwining their fingers, he kissed her hand. "We're never lucky to have something; we deserve whatever we have."

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is that brought you to me, I'm thankful for it." She smiled and he gave her a small smiled and kissed her forehead. Then his hand slipped away from hers and he stood up, he pulled something from his front pocket and kneeled on both his knees before her;

Kelsey was confused: what was going on?

"For you."

He opened his fist, exposing a small silver bracelet that had charms of two hands holding a heart and around it a crown.

Kelsey was shocked a little, unsure what to do or say, all she could do was stare at Ryan who was staring at her. She wanted to ease his anxiety but didn't know how to behave! Sometimes she wished she had a Dana in her pocket or something.

"Kelsey, do you not like it?" Ryan asked gently and Kelsey put her hand over his open fist.

"It's not that, Ryan, I – just – oh, thank you." Her emotions of gratitude, love, excitement and satisfaction erupted in a second and she jumped on him, hugging him and making them both fall on the ground with her on top.

She blushed, surprised at her own wildness, and he laughed and hugged her tight. She couldn't help but smile and comfortably laid her head on his chest, looking at him from below.

"Can I?" He asked her and she offered her right wrist.

He quietly clasped the bracelet around her wrist.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"You're welcome." He chuckled and looked up, at the star struck skies. She did the same, suddenly noticing the black skies with the shining dots illuminating the world.

"I like being like this tonight much better than other nights. The sky is even more bewitching." Ryan said dreamily.

Kelsey had to agree; she liked being able to see the stars while being so close to him; their stomachs touching as the breathed, his fingers sliding on her skin gently, his lips floating right above hers…romantic?

Definitely.

Who knew Kelsey Winslow could do romance?

Smiling at the thought, she rose just a little and landed her lips on his; his arms wrapped around her waist, only allowing her to rise from her waist up.  
His lips were soft against hers, hot and demanding as always; her need for him only increasing when she realized his need for her was just as demanding. She could feel one of his hands gliding down to her butt, gently rubbing it. She felt the fires of passion burning her from the inside out.

She moaned against his lips;

They broke apart for air and when she looked down all she could see was his bare chest. She couldn't take her eyes from the exposed skin; his chest was chiseled and not smooth, he had a little hair scattered evenly on his wide chest. Her eyes followed the pattern of hair until his stomach where it disappeared and only returned in one evident trail just below his bellybutton that descended down to his jeans.

She was completely ogling him.

She blushed when she realized what she was doing and made herself to look back up, to his eyes, shyly.

"No, this is a part of me." He whispered to her and took her hand, pressing it against his chest and slowly sliding down, to his stomach. His chest was hard and sort of smooth, his hair very soft and gentle. His stomach was almost iron made, strong and tight.

"I want you look and explore and be confident about it. I'm yours."

She looked up at him.

"You don't need permission to touch what's yours." He explained patiently.

She nodded, but blushed all the same; at his bluntness, at his ability to speak about intimacy so directly, without any limitations. She wasn't like that and she was sure happy that he was.

"Your innocence would be the end of me." He groaned and pulled her down for a heated kiss. His hand that rested on her butt slid upwards to her back, rubbing gently and stealing under the hems of her shirt.

The touch of skin upon skin was electrifying. She shuddered against him, making him groan again and press her against him.

She moaned at the sensation of him all over her, below, above… yes, it was addictive. So addictive that Kelsey never wanted them to pull apart, that the moment would last forever. She let one of her hands slid on his chest, grazing it with her fingernails; he groaned.

"Kelsey…" He whispered to her lips as one of his hands slid to her butt and made sure to push her against his loins, while rubbing her butt. Kelsey felt the heat between them upgrading, there was something beastly and so primal and she wanted to learn it, explore and familiarize herself with this feeling;

She felt a bulge between her legs.

Excited and yet a little worried, she knew he wanted her like that, that he needed her like that. And right now she wasn't in the state of mind to think whether she wanted it or not, she was sure it was going to happen. Sex was going to happen.

And she was strangely okay with that.

"I'm stopping." He breathed against her lips, but she thought nothing of it and kept kissing him. "Kelsey, I'm stopping." He pulled back, turning his head to the side;

Kelsey felt embarrassed and naturally, rejected;

Her cheeks burned as she pulled away from him, rising on her feet and turning to look away, at the black ocean.

"No, no, no, no." He jumped on his feet and took her hands in his, looking into her eyes; "I want you, I want you so bad that it hurts. Physically, it hurts."

She looked away from him;

"Kelsey…we're at the park, it's nearly midnight and I - - " He stopped for a short moment. "I shouldn't have allowed this."

Kelsey's tempered flared; she looked at him, this time unabashed.

"What? Why? Is this some game?"

Ryan frowned; "Is that what you think?"

"I hate this hot and cold game we're having." She shot.

"Do you want me?" He shot right back at her.

"Yes." The answer was as easy as breathing.

"Do you need me?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to have sex with me?"

"I…"

Yes, she did but right here, right now? She wasn't sure.

Blushing, she looked up at him, saying nothing.

"I thought so." He snapped and turned away.

"What are you saying?" She asked, it wasn't like he didn't know it already.

"You don't know what you want and you're angry with me for stopping. I will not make that decision for you." He was standing with his back to her. "I want you to trust me enough for this and you're not."

He looked insulted. Maybe even hurt… rejected? Could he feel rejected because she didn't answer his question? Well, it wasn't his fault that she didn't know what she wanted, that couldn't define the limit between making out to going all the way and after all, he did have to suffer certain effects. She didn't need to be angry with him only understanding and patient, like he was with her.

"Ryan, I'm sorry." She said quietly and sat on the bench. She watched him starting to pace, not looking at her even once! "You mean a lot to me and I got carried away with all of that…passion." She shrugged.

"It's hard for me, too." He threw.

"Yes, well, you are much more – " He turned to look at her and she blushed; "Experienced with Sex than me."

"It's not the Sex, Kelsey." He walked straight to her and stood in front of her.

"Dealing with Sex is only representing what bothers me." He started pacing in front of her. "You're so innocent and naïve and so damn _good_, that I don't know how to _be_ without hurting you." It was like he blamed her.

"Your innocence consumes me and I don't want to hurt you." He begged now. "I don't want to take what you're not willing to give. Other men might have taken without permission, your kisses, your attention, your affection, but I would not."

"And you assume kissing me would hurt me?"

"No! But kissing you when you don't want to be kissed, just might."

"Ask me."

He looked up at her, a little surprised, it seemed.

"When you're not sure of my answer, ask me, like you did a few moments ago."

He nodded.

"Romance, huh?" She shrugged and he smiled; "Could you explain something? You said my innocence consumes you and I don't understand how."

"You're so essentially good and that it's intriguing and alluring to me. That's why I enjoy watching you react to things, you see them so differently than I do."

"Why?"

"I favor the dark while you're an angel of the light." He smiled.

She was silent, considering what he has just told her. What did he mean, exactly?

"Does it scare you?" He then asked.

"Darkness is no threat on me." She said simply and he smirked. "What?" She asked.

"I didn't expect any other answer from you, My Kitten."

"Kitten?" She snorted.

"Do you not purr when I please you?" He smirked.

"No." She raised an eyebrow and he chuckled and sat right next to her, his lips immediately attacking her neck, kissing, suckling, nibbling.

"Mhmm…" She moaned.

He kissed his way to her earlobe which he bit gently and sucked. She shuddered and he laughed lowly, making her scratch his exposed chest. He captured her hand on his chest, not letting her pull back.

"Yours…don't forget…" He murmured as he let go of her hand and kissed her lips deeply. Comfortable, she kissed back passionately, her hands sliding beneath his open shirt to stroke from his shoulders down to his chest and stomach, lightly grazing his smooth skin with her nails.

"What happened to your shirt?" She breathed as they pulled apart.

"The buttons flew off, it's okay. I'll just wear my jacket and throw it away."

"If you give it to me I'll sow new buttons to it and you could wear it again." He smiled at her and kissed her lips lightly.

"Okay, then." He agreed. "Home?"

She nodded, yawning lightly. "Home."

He chuckled and put on his jacket, taking her hand and leading her back to his motorbike.

* * *

**A/N:** Too long for one chapter, perhaps. Oh, well. Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** In which we have some more smuttiness and a lot of fluff. (:

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Seven**

She was wearing a yellow blouse, khaki shorts and a pair of sandals; a pair of sunglasses decorated her eyes and she was carrying a backpack which hung only on one of her shoulders. She walked casually on the long trail from the Aquabase to the public area and from there up the stairs to the promenade where Ryan would be collecting her.

She couldn't believe today they were sailing! She waited for this day for so long, it gave her something to look forward to and her excitement grew with each passing day and today was finally the day.

Once she reached the street, she leaned against a street light, lifting one leg and leaning it backwards, on the street light's post.

She was nervous; what would Ryan think of her in a swimming suit and a bikini, too. She wasn't even sure she liked the idea of wearing that bikini anyway. Dana made her.

Shaking her head, she tried to push those doubts away; Ryan would like her in whatever she wears, in this she was confident.

A roar of a motor engine alerted her and made her look up, putting those thoughts away: Ryan!

He took off his helmet, greeting her with a smile and handed it to her.

"Hop on." She grinned and joined him on the bike, kissing his cheek from behind a moment before putting on his helmet and holding his waist as they rode off. She had no idea where they were riding off to, but Ryan kept on following the long promenade to what seemed to be Mariner Bay Marine.

Once they've reached the Marine's parking lot, Ryan parked the bike and Kelsey allowed herself off, taking off the helmet as well and giving it to Ryan who took it with him in one arm. He opened the seat, taking out a picnic basket and putting in the helmet before closing back the seat and locking the bike.

He took her hand in his, making her smile at how natural it was to him now. It didn't use to…

"How did you sleep?" He asked gently as he led them to the docks.

"Fine, nothing special, really." She shrugged. "Where did you sleep?" She frowned slightly; he's never taken her to his place or even talked about it. Wasn't it a little odd?

"At my Father's, just outside of the city." He answered shortly and then pointed at the last sailboat in the long line of boats on the dock.

"That's the one." He smiled. "It's a small thing, but it's just the two of us, so I think it'll do."

A small, white sailboat was all they really needed; and this one was no different, only it had a little cabin and Oak finish that shone in the sun.

Kelsey grinned;

"Looking great!"

Ryan smiled at her. "Well, I'm glad you like it. Shall we?"

She nodded and he offered her his hand, she took it and carefully climbed to the deck. Ryan followed, looking much more confident and serene. He put the basket on the deck and walked to release the ropes that tied the boat to the pier. Then he walked to the bridge and turned on the engine, causing Kelsey so raise an eyebrow.

"I thought it was a sailboat?"

He smirked; "Oh, we'll sail alright, just let us hit the real water first." He held the helm firmly as he navigated the boat out of the pier and then out of the marine and harbor.

Kelsey sat on a side bunk and watched him from afar; he seemed to be very skilled with sailing the boat. He was holding the helm in one hand, looking at the horizon. He was beautiful. She sighed.

"Kelsey, come over!" He called her up and she rose and joined him near the helm.

"Yeah?"

"Here," He took her hand and put them on the round helm. "The trick is to stay in balance."

"I've never done this before. I don't want us to drown." She felt embarrassed.

"We won't." He said simply. "I want to release the sails and turn off the engine, call me if you see an iceberg."

"Hardy har har…" She rolled her eyes and he smirked and walked to the deck. He seemed to know what he needs to do and went straight to the sails, untying them and re-tying them in other places.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Kelsey asked loudly.

"I asked my Father to send me to sailing lessons. Combat Arts can be boring sometimes!" He replied, and then he stretched and took off his shirt. "Getting hot!"

She couldn't agree more.

It _was_ hot.

Very hot, actually.

_Too_ hot.

Heat wave like hot.

She watched him sitting down and taking his shoes off, then his socks, which he pushed in the shoes. Then his jeans came off to reveal a black swim shorts with gray outline, Kelsey smiled as she watched him fold his jeans and putting it on the bunk. How cute was Ryan, right?

He then made his way to her, calm and smiling.

"You're doing great." He complimented behind her and she smiled;

"I'm not doing much." She replied smartly.

He kissed her neck, his arms laying on hers; she closed her eyes, letting those soft lips slide smoothly upon her skin. His lips formed a trail of feather light kisses to down her neck and stopped at her nape: her shirt was in the way;

"Am I embarrassing you, My Kelsey?" He murmured upon her skin.

"No, why do you ask?"

"It's hot and you're still dressed…"

"You just want to see me in my swimsuit." She teased.

"That I do, but not at any price." He smirked and kissed her firmly. She pushed him away abruptly, teasingly, only to make him return to her more demanding. His kisses were consuming to her, she cared for nothing else and she had definitely not seen anything else but him.

When the kissing stopped, he stared into her eyes, bewitching her with his obsidian eyes that were black and yet contained so much fire in them. She stroked his cheek gently, staring at him just as intensely, was he the one? Because it sure felt like it.

He touched her hand that touched his cheek, his fingers gliding on her skin until they've touched her bracelet. He tore his eyes from hers to look at it decorating her and smiled, kissing her wrist.

"You're beautiful." He whispered.

She blushed.

"Am I embarrassing you?" He repeated his former question.

"Maybe." She shrugged with a shy smile.

"Tell me what would make you feel at ease." He asked gently. She loved that he was that understanding, and that he was never mad or impatient. It was reassuring.

"A kiss."

"Really? A kiss?" He smiled; oh, he looked so pleased with himself. "Where?"

"Here." Kelsey tapped on her cheek with a finger.

"Is that it?" He sounded a little disappointed and she giggled and nodded. He touched his lips to the skin of her cheek and kissed her a long, wet kiss, making her laugh.

He grinned. "Well?"

He eyed her in a way that made her squirmish and she blushed, punching his arm in vengeance.

His grin turned into a smirk and she laughed and shook her head; he didn't make her feel uncomfortable, she was just shy in front of him, knowing he's expecting her to be… well, probably perfect and she was far from it.

Unlike him.

He had the body of a god; the sort of the heroic, Greek god.

So she might've felt a little self conscious.

Pushing him away, she pulled off her shirt, staying in her yellow bikini top. She stared at him brazenly, curious about his reaction, but it seemed he had none; he stared at her, his eyes stuck on her and she wasn't sure whether to be flattered that he was speechless or worried, because this kind of a reaction from him was not normal.

Unsure of what to do and now a little insecure, she unbuttoned her jeans;

What the hell, right? Better get this over with.

He'll get used to it.

Even though she had not a clue as to if he liked what he saw or not.

She hoped he did but – who knew, right?

She kicked her jeans off and dropped them on her shirt.

Turning her attention to Ryan again, he seemed to have caught a grip and cleared his throat.

"You're stunning. Have you bewitched me?" He asked her in a rather thick voice. He wasn't kidding.

Kelsey frowned;

"Uh, you're the magical one, Ry." She said lazily and sat on the wooden bunk, letting her hair loose.

"Say it again." He asked softly, still standing in the same spot. It was a little unsettling, that foreign-like distance between them.

"Say what?"

"What you called me."

"Ry?" She asked, "You…don't like it?"

"You may call me whatever you like, Kelsey, I enjoy the thought of you having this pet name for me."

She burst out laughing.

His confused expression made her laugh even harder.

"Ryan, stop being so formal! Seriously, sometimes just – "

He kissed her, pulling her close to him.

"Kelsey, stop tempting me, I cannot refuse you." He said seriously and she was now a little dazed herself, what did he mean?

He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"You're always beautiful and being half-naked, while I want you as much as I do… maybe it's too much for us right now." He visibly gulped.

She was definitely flattered and pleased at his words, and still felt a little confused;

"But we're on a boat in the middle of the ocean, what did you expect?" She asked softly.

"I obviously took advantage of the situation just to see you…underdressed." She smiled and he smirked. "You cooperated."

"Maybe I was curious, too." She smirked naughtily and he laughed and pulled her tighter to him.

"Yes, I know I was." He admitted. "Seeing you in daylight is different, even more alluring than kissing your skin at night."

"I've seen you shirtless already, that's not fair." She teased. "That's not very new to me." She said and smoothed her finger along his chest.

She could not believe she did that!

He smiled and caught her hand, resting it against his chest.

"I can show you something you've missed. You've missed it even now."

This guy was challenging. She liked that.

"What is it?" She smiled.

He gently let her hand down and turned to face away from her; on his back, just under his right shoulder blade was a tattoo of a huge cobra. Its forked tongue was out and seemed to move when he moved, turning to face her again.

"A cobra?" She wondered aloud.

"A King Cobra." He corrected.

"Story?" She asked and he nodded.

Grinning, she took his hand and led him to sit with her on the bunk.

"When did you get it?"

"I was twenty one, just before I finished my training in Nepal."

"Wow, you spent three years at that dojo?" She asked and he smiled.

"It was a very educating time in my life. I've studied a lot and went through a lot of physical and mental practice." He explained. "In a way, I think I've become a man there, before that I was just a boy, out of balance, with no honor."

His eyes seemed to have that warmth when spoke; she smiled.

"Did they treat you well? Did you like it there?"

"Yes. It was a haven for me, in a way." He smiled. "My Master was extremely competent with weaponry and hand-to-hand combat."

"What's his name?"

"Master Raju." He said softly, his fingers running through her hair.

"Was he old?"

"Forty years old, but he had the wisdom of a thousand years."

"I'm trying to imagine him, did he have a beard?"

Ryan grinned. "Close your eyes."

As she complied, an image of a short, skinny middle-aged man floated in front of her. His head was shaven and his face smooth, his eyes and mouth had laugh wrinkles and he was wore a brown shirt, a black vest and a crimson cloth that looked like a long skirt.

"How could he move in that thing?"

"Trust me, he could move."

Kelsey opened her eyes to see Ryan smiling at her.

"At the end of my stay with him, I decided to prove that what Master Raju has taught me became a part of me."

"So, why cobra?"

"He always said I was fighting like a noble cobra, I was quick, honorable but very deadly." Ryan shrugged.

"Are you?"

"I'm more than just that. The King Cobra has a very good memory: when a King Cobra dies, the image of its killer remains in its eyes and its mate searches for the killer in vengeance. That is the reason the Nepali, the Hindu and many more of the eastern nations' population are killing the King Cobra while destroying their head and mostly, their eyes."

"That's kind of romantic, in a creepy way."

Ryan grinned.

"Yes, the Master rightfully said I don't forget anything and when I bite, it's deadly." Ryan chuckled. "And that the only way to stop me is to cut my head off…"

Kelsey smiled.

"Did it hurt?"

"No. Nothing does." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Do _you_ have any bodily secrets?"

"I don't think so. I'm a good girl." She tried to best look like an innocent little thing.

He grinned and she had the notion he didn't exactly believed her.

"This is not very goody-two-shoes of you." His finger played with her bellybutton ring. She put her hand on his, allowing herself to enjoy his touch on her stomach.

"What can I say? I have a wild side." She smirked and Ryan laughed, his hand sliding to her hip.

"Are we meant to sail somewhere today or just float around?"

"Whatever you wish, I'll take you anywhere you want." Her arm now rested casually in his shoulders, while her fingers played in his hair.

"I like being in the middle of nowhere." She smiled.

He kissed her briefly.

"Want to take a dip?"

"Sure. Are there any sharks around here?"

He laughed.

"No shark would come near you, you have my word."

Grinning she stared at him, he gestured to the water. "Ladies first."

"No. Way!" She exclaimed.

He laughed and stood on the bunk, easily jumping into the water, head first. He came up for air, floating on his back. She smiled; his hair darkened by the water and it made him look tougher somehow.

"How's the water?"

"Refreshing." He smiled. "Join me." He invited or perhaps he was ordering? He always seemed so confident, she admired this about him.

"The water is not cold." He tried to persuade.

She nodded once and jumped head first to the water. The water was cool and with the warming sun, Kelsey didn't feel cold at all. Once she resurfaced, Ryan swam to her and offered his hand. She took it and he pulled her close to him and hugged her close.

She felt her cheeks heat; at the waters their bodies seemed to align tightly, her breasts were squashed against his chest, her stomach was touching his with every breath she took and she could feel him against her. It was a sweet torture.

His arms slipped lower down her back and to her butt, which he touched gently, holding her against him.

"This is close." He told her and she smiled, a little embarrassed.

"I noticed."

"Did you now?" He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Does it bother you?" He said, his black eyes were tender, somehow. It was a wonder to see such blackness conveying such gentleness.

"No, I trust you." She whispered and squeezed herself against him just to prove it to him.

He smiled and kissed her.

"I thank you." He whispered.

"You shouldn't. I guess you worked hard for it, you deserve my trust."

"You compliment me greatly." He seemed satisfied. "I want to please you."

"And how will you do that, exactly?" She teased.

"Maybe there's a place, somewhere in the world, where you've dreamed of going…" He started and she grinned and shrugged.

"Maybe." She agreed.

"So, I could take you to see tomorrow's sunset there."

"Anywhere in the world?" She doubted.

"Any place you've ever dreamed of."

"Mount Kilimanjaro?" She suggested innocently.

"The North Pole." He replied.

She laughed. "Seriously?"

"Polar Bears aren't my thing." He made a face and she grinned.

"Well?" He's asked after a while of silence where Kelsey's mind debated;

"Um, you said anywhere." She reminded.

"Any place you can think of." He reassured.

"You'd laugh." She shrugged.

"I enjoy laughing, but I'm curious what place would be a dream for you…"

"It's silly." She prepared the ground.

"Nothing is silly when it revolves around you." He insisted, she blushed, a little embarrassed.

"Promise not to laugh…?"

"I won't. Your dreams are important to me, Kelsey; I wish I could make them all come true."

She blushed harder.

"You can't take me to see it tomorrow."

"Can't I?"

"No, because I've always wanted to see New York in the Holiday Season."

He grinned.

"Then tomorrow, I'll take you somewhere else and when the time comes, I'll take you to New York." He reassured.

She smiled. "Don't you think it's silly?"

"No, why should I?"

"New York at the Holiday Season is a notorious location for chick flicks."

"You're a chick, I don't mind." He said evenly.

Kelsey frowned.

"What? What did I say?"

"Don't you think it's weird?" She ignored his 'you're a chick' comment, partly because she was didn't care and partly because…he didn't see her as the tomboy everybody else saw. He saw her differently, as a woman. She liked that. A lot.

"No. I don't understand what's the problem? You said you wanted to go to New York and I'll take you there."

"Most people don't see me as the sort of person for romantics and such." She admitted almost shyly.

"Most people aren't me." He shrugged. "I don't respect you any less for liking chick flicks or wanting to be in New York or enjoying rock climbing. That's who you are and I like that."

She smiled softly. "That's…"

It was a little hard to find the right word.

He blinked, expecting;

"Sweet." She heard herself saying, even when what she felt was so much further and deeper than 'sweet'. Why couldn't she just admit it to him?

"Ryan, I'm…" She stared into his eyes now, refusing to be shy any longer; she struggled for words that could convey just how much and how deeply she felt. Were there such words in existence? She wasn't sure.

He kissed her lips softly, briefly.

"It's okay." He murmured to her and she smiled and shook her head.

She pulled away from him, her legs unwrapping his waist, her arms letting loose of his shoulders.

"Kelsey…" He whispered.

Embarrassed, she turned away from him, swimming away just a little. For space. Still, she could hear him catching up with her and then he was with her again. He dragged her against him.

"You don't have to answer to me, you don't have to explain anything." He said softly. "That's not what I want from you."

A tear escaped her eye.

"Let's get on the boat, we can't talk right now."

She nodded and led the short way back to the sailboat. She felt she was hurting him when she couldn't express how much he meant for her. He did mean so much! She grabbed the small rope ladder and climb it skill fully, stepping onto the wooden deck and immediately went to her backpack, pulling out a large yellow towel. She wrapped the towel around her and crossed her arms around herself.

"Kelsey," was the first thing he said when he first stepped back on the boat.

He also grabbed a towel and rubbed it against his chest as he made his way to sit next to her on the bunk.

She shied away from him;

How could she look into his eyes and not feel like a liar.

"Kelsey…" He murmured, his hand gently landed on hers. He held her hand. "Tell me."

"Sometimes I feel there are no words that can describe just how much you mean to me." She bit her bottom lip; "What you said earlier, well, I told you it was sweet, but it wasn't. It was so thoughtful and I know you care for me. A lot."

She blushed.

"More than a lot." He agreed. "Why did you cry, then?"

"It's just that…I'm not as straightforward as you and sometimes I feel that maybe I don't return the favor. That maybe I should be more like that, too. I want you to feel as happy and as cared for as you make me feel, and sometimes I don't know if you do."

She shrugged.

"And I want you to be happy." She added, blushing.

"I am." He took her hand in his. "I enjoy my life and I most enjoy sharing it with you." She nodded; he was talking in his mysterious sort of awkward way again and even though she knew he meant it, somewhere in her mind she refused to accept his words.

She said nothing.

"Kelsey," He touched her cheek. "I'm content. I realized a long time ago that people differentiate from each other; their reactions differ, their interaction…" His voice drifted for a moment, then there was silence and he kissed her hand.

"Kitten," She blushed at the nickname. "Please, take all the time you need to express yourself the way you see fit."

"How do you know?" She asked suddenly, on a whim.

"Know what?"

"How do you know what I feel or how intensely I do feel?"

"I don't." He whispered, smiling. "But when I look into your eyes…" He touched the tip of her nose. "Your eyes tell me everything. I'm not looking for words; words are the consequence of realization and thoughts, this is why I understand it takes time."

She frowned.

"Isn't it important to you to know what I feel for you?"

"I know that I hope that you like me, and then again, I know that you do." He was smiling smugly now and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at his smugness. Proud bastard. Yes she definitely liked him!

"You wouldn't be here if you wouldn't." He noted and then continued; "And I know you trust me, because you wouldn't tell me about your New York adventure fantasy."

She smiled a wet smile at the silly nickname he's given her dream.

"And you should know I trust you, too, because you're the first person I've ever told about my Magic."

"I know." She sighed.

"Then why do you cry if it's all laid out for you to see?" He gave a pointed look at her tears and touched her wet cheek, collecting a stray tear on his finger.

"I can't watch you cry; it feels as though someone is stabbing me in the chest." He told her and she felt her heart hammering at his words. "Don't ever cry, Kelsey, always be joyous."

He wiped her tears.

"You know I can't guarantee it and neither can you."

"Perhaps," he kissed her forehead. "Try and be happy, I enjoy seeing you smile."

She grinned at his words, how could his words make her feel so…content? He smirked back at her.

A warm breeze caressed their faces, eliminating all trace of tears on her face and tickling her already warm skin. She lazily closed her eyes at the sun, his arms then rested on her shoulders and she leaned her head against him;

A few moments later she blinked her eyes open, watching him watching her with a smile.

"Ry?"

He smiled at her.

"Race ya around the boat!" She declared and jumped into the water; a second later the large splash behind her indicated that he followed.

He caught up with her faster than she thought he night, and yelped when his arms wrapped her waist and dragged her against him; chest to hest, stomach to stomach, their noses touched and she couldn't help the gigantic smile.

"I won." He grinned and bent down to kiss her but she moved away, smirking.

He pouted. "No kiss for the winner?"

She smiled and put her arms on his shoulders, using them as leverage as she rose to kiss him. It was a short, salty kiss;

"Sweetness of mine," He murmured to her lips. "Don't ever leave me."

"I won't." She breathed and he kissed her.

She broke the kiss as her stomach grumbled;

"Um, Ry, I'm hungry and as much as I like making out with you…I really am starving." She blushed and he smiled; it was at least noon by then and they didn't even have breakfast!

"Come here." He wrapped his arms around her and n a millisecond they were on the boat.

She smiled; it was the strangest and yet most awesome experience she'd ever had!

"So, what do you want for… - lunch, I guess." He shrugged, maybe he couldn't track the time when eh was with her, as well?

"We're at the open sea so I want...erm, something sweet."

"Not real food then." He smiled. "Soufflé?"

"Nah." She stretched and laid on the bunk, closing her eyes. "Help me think, something light and sweet…"

Before she could explain further, she felt the air changing as he made his way to her; when his scent was finally very close and he kissed her, his lips were demanding and hot, and surprisingly, his mouth tasted of strawberries.

It made her smile against his lips.

"You taste sweet."

She murmured to him when they broke away for air. He smirked at her, showing her a strawberry in his hand. Silently he offered it to her lips.

It was her turn to smirk; she then bit into the strawberry and let the sweet-sour tastes wash her mouth, yet she did not enjoy it alone. Before she could realize the purpose of it, Ryan kissed her again, stealing the juices and pieces of fruit out of her mouth.

"Ryan!" She pulled away and he laughed.

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I didn't get the chance to – " He smirked again and rose on his feet, showing her a ready packed plate of strawberries.

"Wow, I wish I had whipped crème."

Ryan smiled and pulled from behind his back a can of whipped crème making Kelsey squeal and jump on it. He laughed as he watched her; Kelsey happily took the whipped crème and put some on her finger, putting it in her mouth greedily.

"Mmmm…" She enjoyed its rich, sweet taste. Her pure joy of having crème was almost childish, she had to admit, but it was her absolute favourite dessert!

"I wish there was music." She said all of a sudden, she beat herself off when music started to play. Ryan was not her servant to comply to every whim she had.

Shaking her head she went back to her strawberry, thinking she should apologize to him later; she put some crème on one of the strawberries and out in her mouth.

"Mmmm… this is so good!" She licked her lips.

"Kelsey…" He laughed; "You tease so much sometimes!" He grinned as he blamed.

"I'm not." She argued and put the plate aside, rising to her feet, she took his hands in hers. "Let's dance!"

He laughed and jumped along with her; she couldn't explain how free she felt with him! How unabashed, how truly herself. She looked at him and couldn't help that silly smile.

He twirled her and pulled her closer to him and she couldn't feel more welcomed, loved…admired! Just by looking t her, he made her feel so good…

"You tire me." He said as he pulled her close to him, keeping her tightly close to his body.

She laughed. "Can't keep up?"

He smirked. "Resting is important." In a second they were falling backwards on a thick mattress that showed up from nowhere behind them. "Isn't it?"

She smiled, closing her eyes and enjoying the sun on her face.

"Mmm…yes." She had to agree. "You know," She opened one eye to look at him; "We haven't put any sunscreen on. That's not right."

"Don't worry. I took care of that." He said leisurely.

"Magic?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Yes."

"That's cheating." She laughed and he smirked.

"I need to protect you. I am." She now stared at him, his eyes were so serious when he said it. Her hand on her belly slid on the angry white puncture scars, made by Wolfabeast. His hand caught hers.

"What's this?" He asked and sat up, inspecting the scars.

"Wolfbeast." She murmured.

"Oh. I thought it was gone by now. May I kiss your scars?"

She gulped, nodding. For some reason, wearing nothing but her swim-suit made it feel a whole lot more intimate and she wondered what it would feel like under the sun rather than under the night sky.

His lips felt cold on her heated belly, as they slid upon the remains of her scars. She shuddered involuntarily;

_It would be gone before the moon is out_. His voice echoed in her head and she nodded.

His lips then proceeded to explore the naked skin on her belly, travelling and making her squirm where she was sensitive. Ryan liked her squirming according to his pleased chuckle whenever her skin tingled or a shiver ran through her.

"Ryan!" Kelsey called when he returned, the third time, to the sensitive spot on her side. Only then Ryan crawled upwards to face her, smiling.

"I like your skin." He noted, then started kissing her neck, descending to her collar bone which he licked, causing her to shudder.

Yes, she liked what he was doing; her heart was thundering in her chest, her body felt like it was burning and her skin tingled with excitement.

"Kiss me." She asked him and he obliged immediately. His kiss was salty, conquering; he always had this controlling aspect and his kisses were always so demanding.

"Kitten, how else can I please you?" He asked;

It surprised her that he asked, and still she wasn't all that surprised; yes, he had this controlling aspect but it seemed that when it came to her, he begged to please, to give.

"Ryan," She whispered to get his attention and when he stared at her, she smiled. "You don't have to."

"I want to." He kissed her nose. "Tell me what would make you happy and I will do it in a moment."

"Okay." She smiled. "I want you to lay still and close your eyes." Will he be able to let himself be under her mercy?

He complied immediately, not saying a word.

His immediate response flattered and surprised her at the same time. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, she rose on her knees and set out to explore him.

She took a deep breath, collecting every drop of nerve she had inside, as she put one finger on his cheek. She then added another finger and a third, until her palm was resting on his cheek.

His cheek was smooth and his skin was pleasant and soft. She caressed him gently, moving to his other cheek. She then let her fingers climb to his nose, studying the structure of it, gently pinching the tip of his nose and letting her fingers jump down to his lip, outlining them;

He bit her finger, making her yelp while he laughed, not releasing her finger from between his teeth.

"Ry…" She giggled and pulled her finger out of her mouth, replacing it with her lips. She led the slow rhythm of the kiss; it was light and delicate, floating like a cloud.

She rubbed her nose in his, letting her fingers run through his hair.

"Sweet Kelsey." He murmured.

She smiled and bit his left earlobe, dragging her teeth down his neck and bit gently at his collar bone. She watched as he bit his bottom lip, clenching his fingers to fists…with restraint?

Perhaps.

"What is it?" She whispered, gluing her lips to his cheek. She nuzzled his cheek and then – his neck while waiting for an answer.

He opened his eyes, looking down at her; "You consume me."

In a moment he flipped them so he was on top of her, kissing her, rubbing every inch of her skin he could get his hands on.

"Kelsey…" He murmured as his teeth teased her exposed shoulder. "My sweet Kelsey…"

Her fingernails grazed his raked his shoulder; one hand scratching his chest. Ryan's hand stopped her, pressing her against his chest,

"I want you." He whispered, guiding her hand down his chest and on to his hard stomach. He then guided her lower, to his bellybutton; her fingers explored his rather smooth skin even in his lower abdomen, when her fingers touched a trail of soft blond hair that began from under his bellybutton and went all the way to his trunks.

She allowed herself the freedom of following this trail until her fingers met the hems of his trunks and stopped. He closed his eyes.

"I long to be inside of you, Kelsey Winslow." He whispered to her ear;

Strangely, she didn't see his declaration of lust as a threat; there was no fear of the unknown which crept upon her in other times or with other men; only excitement and her own longing for him. It made her feel like she had this power over him, because he was willing to beg in order to receive her graces, if you consider sex as a grace, anyway. She loved how he wasn't shy about his needs even when he knew she could not, well, would not oblige at all times.

Although this time she felt she needed to. She felt the urgency of his needs because they were a reflection of her own needs.

That was quite a discovery; to realize that suddenly, and maybe even, finally, she was sure that she wanted that, too. She wanted to have sex with Ryan. Somehow it seemed it was the answer to all of that physical attraction, or seemed to be.

"Kelsey, what are you thinking about?" He smiled at her and kissed her neck.

"Nothing." She smiled and he bit gently into her neck.

"Okay." She knew he was curious but let it go anyway. "My words seemed to initiate your deep thoughts." He noted.

"Yes." She admitted calmly.

"Well, I just want to say that I was wrong to say this, Kelsey. I apologize." He stared at her and she knew he watched her closely, examining her reaction.

"What for?" She felt a little confused.

He frowned;

"I promised you that I wouldn't rush this." He sighed. "And I did, because I spoke urgently and – "

"Wait, are you apologizing for telling me that you want to have sex with me?"

He stopped;

"No." He said, staring at her. "Yes?" He said a moment later.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him.

"Ry, I love that you always tell me what's on your mind and I think I can handle it." She shrugged. "Please, always tell me what's on your mind."

"I will."

"You're way better at this than I am." She added and he chuckled and kissed her.

"You know I want you."

"I know."

"I don't want to pressure you and I feel like I do and I dislike that about myself." He pointed out.

"You've never done a single thing to pressure me." She stated, smiling.

He squirmed!

"Haven't I?" He sighed. "Kelsey, I need this, but not in the cost of you not being sure that you want me."

"But I do." She whispered. "Ryan, I want you. Truly. I was afraid of this intimacy with you until now, but I'm not anymore." She shrugged. "I know you wouldn't hurt me and I know you always protect me and I love and appreciate it. Just…don't let your protectiveness shield me from everything."

"I promise." He whispered and then grinned hugely. "You trust me."

"Yeah, I do."

"Your trust pleases me." She rolled her eyes at his strange pick of words. "What?"

"I shall need my spear and butler milord." She said and then laughed. "Seriously, Ry, you speak strangely sometimes."

He smiled and kissed her, then stared up at the skies.

"The sunset is beginning and we should head back before dark." He sighed and rose on his feet. He grabbed her shirt and handed it to her, then grabbed his own and wore it.

"It's going to be a little colder." He stated. "Want to navigate home?"

She grinned and joined him at the helm.

It was completely dark when they made their way back to his motorbike; he was holding her close to his side, his arms wrapping her tightly, like he was trying to shield her from the cold. Since they were both wearing shorts he couldn't really warm her, but as soon as they reached the motorbike he silently opened the seat and took out his leather jacket and helmet, silently offering them to her.

She smiled; "Thanks."

He helped her to put on the jacket and smiled as she put on the helmet.

"Shall we?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah." He mounted the bike, waiting for her to join him. She followed immediately and braced herself (and Ryan) for the wind that was bound to freeze them on their way home.

Luckily, it was a quick ride from the Marine to where the stairs of the promenade led to the Aquabase. He stilled the bike and she took it as a sign to get off;

She gingerly took off the helmet as well and offered it to him, he took it and hung it on the hand brake, staring at her;

"I had a really great time today." She grinned.

"I know." He said smugly.

She hit his shoulder.

"Ryan!"

He laughed and pulled her against him, kissing her. "I had a lovely time with you, sweet Kelsey."

He had this dreamy smile all over his face, illuminating his dark eyes and softening his serious demeanor. Kelsey couldn't resist him displaying such a beautiful emotion and kissed him;

"Tomorrow at Sunset?" She asked, her nose touching his.

"Of course, beautiful." He smiled and she felt her cheeks heat.

"I'm going to miss you a little." She winked and pulled back, but he quickly reached for her hand, pulling her back again.

"Only a little?" He smirked and pecked her lips. "Be safe and sleep tight."

She smiled and slowly slid her hand from his as she made her way downstairs to the lower promenade and from there – to the Aquabase.

Smiling stupidly the entire time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** Thanks to all of those who reviewed! Sorry for the late update... Forgive me? (:

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Eight**

A knock on the door woke her; a quick glance at the red light of her alarm clock pointed out it was 7:00 am sharp. Whoever decided to be her wake up call was sure as hell spot on. Yawning, Kelsey made her way to the door, opening it to a slit.

A squeal.

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Good Morning, Kelsey!"

Uh-oh, it was Dana and she was perky and excited upon the so-early-for-Sunday morning. Kelsey opened the door widely, surrendering to the now unarguable fact of her night's sleep being over at 7 am on a Sunday morning.

"I brought you some coffee and some cereal!" Dana entered while holding a tray with two coffee mugs and two cornflakes bowl with a carton of milk. She put the tray on Kelsey's nightstand and jumped on her yellow covered bed that made her fluffy pinky pajamas to stand out.

"Thanks, Dana." Kelsey yawned. "I'll go brush my teeth."

Making her way to the bathroom, Kelsey couldn't help but think Dana was probably so curious that she couldn't sleep. There's a shocker there. Kelsey had to chuckle as she pulled her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth.

"So, Kelsey, when did you come back last night?"

"About Eight." Kelsey answered while she washed her toothbrush and then left it on the sink while making her way to the bed.

"Why didn't you stop by my room? I'm so curious!" Kelsey joined Dana, sitting on her bed and taking her coffee.

"It sounds really lame but I was so tired. All I wanted to do was to take a shower and go to bed. You know how being in the sun the entire day and at the ocean can be really draining." She explained.

"True." Dana agreed with a smile; "Now – tell me!"

Kelsey laughed.

"Come on, Kels, you know I have no existing love life, so I must live through you, darling."

Both laughed together.

"We sailed to the middle of nowhere and stayed in the same spot, occasionally taking a dip in the water – "

"No, no, no, no, no!" Dana said quickly. "You are not getting away with _that_, what was his reaction when he saw you in your bikini?"

"Speechless." Kelsey admitted, blushing.

Dana squealed.

"And he absolutely adores my belly ring."

"Oh my god! Yes! I knew it!" Dana clapped excitedly. "I knew it was the perfect swimsuit ever, it's like it was made for you."

Kelsey grinned; "You are awesome for helping me with picking it out, of course."

"Of course," Dana agreed. "Do you think Carter would like it if I got a belly ring?"

Kelsey shrugged. "I don't know, it's hard to imagine him liking stuff other than…" Then she caught herself on the verge of unintentionally hurt Dana, who was frowning; "The norm, you know? He likes everything by the book, maybe it'll be too much."

She gulped. "Maybe you should dare Joel to ask him what he likes."

"Oh," Dana said, clearly in a deep thought. "Maybe I should…"

Kelsey put her coffee away and took one bowl of cereal and began munching on it; "So, what happened while I was gone?" Kelsey asked, mouthful.

That seemed to cheer Dana up a bit, which was a great start.

"Oh!" Her eyes widened. "Dad came back from a meeting with the Mayor and they want to throw a Charity Fair next week."

"Really?" Fairs were something Kelsey adored.

"Yeah and because it's for Charity, Dad went off and volunteered us all to help. And by 'all' I mean everyone who's working in the Aquabase, soldiers and civilians." Dana explained and Kelsey chuckled.

"Nice. Did you guys split the chores yet?"

"Not yet, but I do know we're expected to be the security pack."

"Obviously." Kelsey interfered smilingly.

Dana grinned; "Yes and I thought we might help building up the rides so we could actually enjoy the fair."

"I don't know, knowing Joel he'd love to be the guy falling off a chair into a pool." Kelsey shrugged and Dana laughed.

"We should totally make him be that guy!" Her eyes sparkled and Kelsey laughed.

"So, how was yesterday with Ryan? Really tell me, not just to make me shut up." Dana asked with a slight pout. Kelsey sighed and put the cereal bowl away, lying with her back on the bed.

"Ryan is pretty much the most amazing person I've ever met in my whole life." She couldn't help the smile when she was talking about him; just the thought of him made hundreds of little butterflies flutter in her belly.

"I've never met any guy who had this amount of sweet nature and compassion. I've never felt this way to a guy." She shrugged and looked at Dana, blushing; "You've met him, what do you think?" She wondered aloud.

"Well, I think he's a decent guy. He still needs to prove whether he deserves my Kelsey, of course – " And at that, Kelsey snorted – "But he's kind and good hearted and the most important thing is that you like him. That's good enough for me."

"Thanks." Kelsey smiled; "I only wish you were that happy with Carter." She shrugged.

"I will be. I know it." Dana smiled, but Kelsey could see the glint of sadness in her eyes and felt bad for her; it wasn't fair that Dana wasn't as happy as she was. Dana deserved happiness as much as she did.

"Yesterday I had a great time with Ryan, we were swimming and talking and just being together, really alone, it was private..." Kelsey shrugged. "It felt like we were the only people in the world and I loved it."

"It or him?" Dana asked softly.

"Both, I guess. Too soon to tell." Kelsey shrugged and sighed loudly, making Dana laugh. "Is it even normal that I miss him?"

"This is getting _so_ romantic." Dana smiled wistfully, lying next to Kelsey on the bed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you, but I'm extremely jealous, too!"

Kelsey smiled and took Dana's hand in hers.

"Things fall in together in the right time, yours just hasn't come yet and you know, good things happen to those who wait."

"But when will it? Carter is just so…frustrating! Ugh!" The Pink Ranger sunk her face in Kelsey's pillow, punching the bed a little.

"He's your challenge, Dana, just like Ryan is mine…" Kelsey laughed and closed her eyes. "Stop worrying about it and enjoy the moment. Think of all the way you can completely surprise him, make him jealous or shocked. It could be a great way to pass the time."

Kelsey offered and Dana sat up in a sharp moment.

"You say I should tease him?"

"To death." Kelsey smiled evilly.

Dana's grin matched hers; "Oooh, I like this plan!"

* * *

Hours into the day and not before long it was Sunday's noon work out session in the Aquabase gym. Giggling madly, the yellow and pink rangers entered at the exact time, which was, five minutes late.

"You are late." Carter noted, putting the weights aside;

"Sorry, Carter." Kelsey smiled at him and turned to the treadmill, winking at Dana. Joel was already running on the treadmill and Chad was working on his biceps doing push ups. Curiously, Kelsey wondered whether he noticed Dana's outfit; today Dana was wearing _tight_ hot pink tights and some very appealing (well, _tight_) black tank top with pink outline. Needless to say her bust was unavoidable to any male (and willing female) who cast his eyes on her. Even Chad stared for a long minute before blushing and looking away, luckily, Joel didn't whistle.

Ignoring Chad, Dana turned to mat for a moment, then seemed to think better of this and turned to Carter.

"Hey, Carter, want to spar?" She offered the red ranger.

"Sure." He put the lifts aside and joined her on the mat; Kelsey slowed her running and watched the pair:

Carter was standing about five feet from Dana, they bowed to each other and Kelsey couldn't help but notice how physically big Carter was from Dana; her head barely reached his shoulders and he sure was broader and more muscular than her.

Which meant he would only fall harder.

Kelsey snickered as she watched Dana's swift movements; Carter was trying to keep up but Dana was faster than he was; he was trying to block the air while he was already being hit and barely managed to evade her kicks. Sooner than expected, Carter was on his back on the mat, looking at up at Dana who sat on his stomach.

"I win." She yawned.

"You win." He raised both of his arms in the air, surrendering.

Dana gave a satisfied grin and got up, offering her arm to help him. He took her arm and pulled her down on him, in a quick move, he rolled on top of her and pinned her to the ground, belly-on-mat, while he was holding her wrists behind her back, using his legs to pin down hers.

"I win." Carter declared.

"You wish." Dana wriggled and struggled against his hold; somehow she managed to elbow him and her hands released, making the pair start wrestling on the mat again.

"This is getting gross." Joel commented to Kelsey from the treadmill.

Kelsey laughed. "I think it's about time." She turned her head to look at Chad who seemed disgusted.

"Maybe we should take off?" He offered.

"Yes, but without Carter noticing us or they'll stop." Kelsey agreed quickly.

"Aw, they're trapped in their own little world." Joel batted his eyelashes, Chad snickered.

"Chad, you go first." Kelsey commanded and Chad gave her a nod and slipped away through the door as quickly as possible.

At the mat, Carter was trying to push off Dana's legs that were confining his torso to the ground;

"Go, go, go, go, go!" Kelsey whispered Joel who quickly took off of the room.

Carter was now on top of Dana, who was punching his stomach, he tried to defend himself by grabbing her wrists but didn't manage to actually take hold of them;

Kelsey smiled and slowly made her way to the door, grinning happily as she skipped her way to her room. Yes, they were quite good for each other. She laughed as she entered her shower.

* * *

By the time Kelsey finished dressing up after taking the shower, a hurried knock was heard on the door. Kelsey opened it, not surprised to reveal Dana, only instead of a laughing Dana she found a tearful Dana.

"What's wrong?" She frowned, letting Dana come into her room and shut the door behind her.

"He doesn't want me." Dana sobbed; she was still wearing her gym clothes, her face were a little red and she looked beaten.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because he did."

Kelsey swallowed; how could she react to that? Maybe she should just be there for Dana and that's that? Sighing quietly, Kelsey sat next to Dana on the bed, holding her.

"Wait, tell me what happened first. He wouldn't have said it if nothing happened." Kelsey thought aloud after a few silent moments.

"We kissed." Dana blurted. "Well, _I_ kissed him." She sounded so miserable! "I – He – when we parted he just said it was a mistake and that we can't, because we're teammates and that's wrong."

"Did he kiss you back?" Kelsey asked pointedly.

Dana smiled dreamily; "Yeah."

This time it was Kelsey who squealed.

"But he doesn't want me!" Dana moaned sadly.

"Of course he does! He's just too anal to admit it." Kelsey explained expertly. "You just have to be persistent: you know how dense the guy is."

The truth was that Kelsey felt more and more angry by the minute, did Carter have no brain at all? Dana was a beautiful, attractive and intelligent woman, why wouldn't he want her? She knew that his love of the rules book was probably what stopped him, but he was missing out on the greatest chance to be happy! How could he do that to himself, let alone to Dana…?

Dana closed her eyes. "I'm not sure I have the strength to do it."

"I thought you liked him?" Kelsey raised an eyebrow at Dana, who blushed.

"Yes, but – "

"No buts, just show him that his stupid rules don't matter, that they can't stop you." Kelsey sat next to Dana. "It's easier to tell you no than to take the risk or maybe he's just scared. I don't know." She shrugged. "You took a risk and you got hurt, I'm sorry for you, but I think you shouldn't give up if you really love him."

Dana smiled and hugged Kelsey. "You're completely right." She sniffed. "Oh, Kelsey, you're the best. What would've I done without you?"

"Kick Carter's balls, like he deserves for making you cry." Kelsey said snarkily and Dana laughed.

* * *

Kelsey walked up the hill, huge rolls of paper and rectangular pieces of carton sticking out from the backpack she carried; more in the backpack were multicolour markers, pencils and a giant ruler. She easily reached the top, and put her backpack on the bench, glaring at it;

Earlier there was a short team meeting where they split the extra chores that weren't only help constructing the Fair. Apparently, it was obligatory to do something extra, so Dana was in charge of the emergency paramedics, you know, if anything happens. Kelsey had to admit that with the Titanium Ranger roaming about, anything could happen, so in spite of it being a little pessimistic it was best to have paramedics around.

Joel was voted to be the guy whom everyone will try to drown. She had to smile at that, it did seem fit. Carter was in charge of security, obviously, and Chad was in charge of all the Food caterers.

Which meant Kelsey was responsible of creating and hanging of huge orientation signs; you know: ladies room, information, lost and found and such… it's just that she had a horrible handwriting. So horrible that Kelsey herself felt sorry for all of those who are going to wander about because her handwriting was unreadable. And herself.

"Kelsey!" He came up behind her, she turned to look at him while he joined her and pulled her for a hug. Then a kiss.

"Hey, well rested?" She asked and he laughed and shook his head.

"Not as much as I'd like." He smiled. "What's all of this?" He pointed at the yellow backpack.

"The Aquabase is helping to organize a charity fair next week and I got voted to draw the orientation signs." She noted gloomily and put her head on his shoulder while they've watched the sunset.

"Why is it a bad thing? You're really unhappy about it." Ryan squeezed her tight to his side.

"It may not seem but I have the worst handwriting in the history of mankind." She stated sadly and Ryan laughed.

"I don't believe it, but I'll help you anyway."

"I was counting on it. There is no way I could do it all by myself and none of my friends is going to help me. They set me up to do this because they know I hate it. I'm not going to hear the end of it for weeks now." Her hands balled into fists.

Ryan laughed.

Kelsey turned to look at him and punched his arm.

"That's not funny!" She frowned; "My friends are torturing me! How is it amusing?"

"You look like an angry kitten, it's very amusing to me." He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Don't let it worry you. I'll help you and we can nail this thing together. When do you need to set it up?"

"Wednesday at noon." She commented, burying her face in his neck. "You don't have to help me to set it up, my friends would do that. I just need help with drawing them." She lazily closed her eyes as she tingled from the sensation of his breaths on her ear.

He gently guided her to stand in front of him, fully against him and kissed her lips gently. His taste was overwhelming, as if she forgot it and it came back in a splash. Intoxicated, she smiled against his lips.

"Come with me to the Fair?" She murmured against his lips.

"Sure, when do I need to be there?"

"It starts at four o'clock."

He pulled back and smiled. "I'll be there, come're." He pulled her closer, squeezing her against her and making her laugh and hold him tighter as well; he made her so happy, it was crazy! If only the entire world was as happy. Dana for example.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked and Kelsey looked up at him, puzzled.

"What?"

"You frowned."

"Dana has a crush on this guy called Carter and he's being a little difficult." Kelsey murmured to his neck sadly. "She's my best friend and I hate to see her sad because of him."

"She's lucky to have you." Ryan whispered and kissed the top of her head. "He might be wrong for her if she burns for him and he doesn't care. Maybe she's better off without him."

"I don't know, they're pretty much made for each other." She shrugged and let her fingers climb up his neck and into his smooth hair.

"Forget them for now." He demanded and kissed her neck. "Did you rest today?"

"Dana woke me up around seven o'clock in the morning, she had to know where we went and what did we do and if I enjoyed myself." She shook her head; "It was way too much perkiness for so early on a Sunday morning, if you ask me." She shrugged and Ryan chuckled.

"Well, did you?"

She frowned; "Did I what?"

"Enjoy yourself with me?" She looked up at him, staring into the familiar blackness of his eyes. His touched his nose to hers, smiling at her.

"Your answer?" He reminded her.

"Of course." She whispered upon his lips before she kissed him; the kiss was slow and lingering, teasing almost with its gentle nature. He pulled back a little and gently bit her bottom lip, making her giggle and making their next kiss much hotter and urgent.

"Ready for our climbing trip next Saturday?"

She smiled; "Sure, see if you can keep up with me."

He grinned and took her hand in his; "Let's find a picnic table with enough streetlight to draw."

There was such an exact picnic table just down the hill and Ryan grabbed her backpack, hung it on one shoulder and they walked to sit.

"I'll write, you color?" He offered while they spread the large cartons and rolls of paper;

"Yes, that would be awesome." She smiled, how lucky was she, to have such a considerate guy in her life?

"Tell me what signs you need?" Ryan was already holding a black marker.

"Information Booth, Ladies Room, Men's Room and Food. I'll draw a few arrows and then start colouring." She commanded and he smiled.

"Great." He started scripting and Kelsey couldn't help but looking at his handwriting; in spite of him using block letters, his letters were round and lacked all the niceties girls usually add up in their handwriting; it was simple and clean and she liked it, it was so much like Ryan, himself.

Catching herself daydreaming, she grabbed a dark blue marker and started drawing six large arrows. She later rolled them together and took a hold of one of the posters he already written; she started colouring the letters in green.

"What's your favourite ride in the fair?"

"I wouldn't know as I've never been to one." He admitted, his eyes not leaving the poster he was drawing. A little embarrassed, perhaps?

"Wow, Ryan, that's a little sad." He shrugged and Kelsey realized she might've hurt him. She didn't mean to dismiss his childhood or something, it was just strange, you know?

"Sorry, it's just…" She gulped. "I really love fairs and I feel bad for you to not have this experience."

He looked at her now, his eyes boring into her; "It's okay. I'm sure you'll guide me through." He smiled.

"I promise I will." She whispered softly.

"Good. I'm all done here, how about I help you color?" He joined her in colouring.

It was amusing to see him, all strong and confident, so enthralled with colouring! She felt safe and protected with him, there's not much to say about a man who is actually colouring like a four years old just because you asked him to. Only that he's loyal and caring and ready to help. She felt her heart giving a little squeeze in her chest when she looked at him. A feeling of pride rested upon her while her stare measured him, this amazing person was her boyfriend.

He must've felt her stare because he looked up at her, the blackness of his eyes conveying so much emotion.

"I wonder, what are you thinking?" He asked as he returned to his colouring.

"I'm thinking I have the best boyfriend in the world." She smiled and he looked up at her and smirked.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes." She had to stop herself from laughing. "When a man is colouring for you, that's a milestone, you know? Sacrificing his manly honour and all that."

Ryan burst out laughing and she couldn't help but join him.

"If my colouring is a milestone for you, I wonder what your reaction will be when you understand I'd happily throw away my life for you." He commented a while after they've calmed down.

"Don't say things like that." She whispered, putting her marker away and stealing close to him.

"It's true." He stated.

"I know but we're living in a world – "

"Where it could very well happen." He interrupted sharply.

"I don't even want to consider it. I hope you know I'd do the same for you." She whispered to him and kissed his cheek.

"Kelsey…" He sighed, displeased.

"I don't want to hear it." She insisted and turned to return to her current drawing when he pulled her back to him and kissed her cheek, confining her between his arms.

"My angry kitten." He murmured to her cheek and bit her earlobe, sending shivers all over her. "Don't be mad at me, I was honest." He pleaded.

"So was I. You silly man, I just don't want anything to happen to you." She bit is bottom lip a little harshly, making him hiss before she kissed him deeply. He pushed her against the side of the table and conquered her lips with his heated demeanor.

"I'm nearly done. Let's get some dinner after that?" He asked when they parted for air.

"Yes." She agreed quietly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** Hello! (:  
Sorry for the very late update, between work, life and the Flue, I simply forgot.  
Forgive me! And on to the chapter; (Next time will be smutful ;D)

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Nine**

Kelsey woke up in Wednesday morning very cheerful; so cheerful that she was the first to show up to their morning training, this time – jogging on the beach. Soon after her Carter, Joel and lastly Chad and Dana appeared together. Things were a little strange after Dana and Carter kissed; both of them tried to avoid a situation where they would be left alone together and they didn't talk to each other unless they had to. Kelsey felt sorry for both of them, being embarrassed overthrew being in love – seriously?

They started jogging and Kelsey gave up her thoughts, concentrating on her breathing; she had a steady, familiar tempo for her jog that she fell into comfortably. Carter was in the lead, of course, Dana the second, almost catching up to him, and Chad and Joel appeared to be running together, talking.

She loved the clean, deep scent of the beach, the crisp salty taste of the air lingering inside her. It reminded her the day she went sailing with Ryan, how peaceful and leisurely it was. Wonderful.

She caught herself smiling and laughed a little; she was silly for Ryan sometimes.

Not before long Carter stopped, making them all stop; they stretched and it was time for some push ups and sit ups, then a little competition (who can hold the longest on his forearms and toes?) and then, they ran back. This time, Carter was running with Joel, the pair laughing a little, Kelsey found Dana and Chad walked last, looking pensive as he watched the ocean.

"How are you feeling today, Dana?" Kelsey asked lightly.

"Better, thanks." Dana smiled sadly. "I think the fair is going to rock and maybe I could spend some of the time with Carter." She shrugged.

"Really? You've asked him?"

"Not really, I'm just going to make him follow me everywhere." Dana blushed. "I just wish he'd get it, what it could be like, you know?"

"Yes... I guess sometimes it's hard to realize why you're doing this; maybe Carter deserves to lose you, but I get it, especially now that I have Ryan. I only hope Carter does, too."

Dana nodded. "Seems hopeless, huh?"

"Nah, I do believe he's just a little dense." Kelsey shrugged. "Race you to the Aquabase?" She challenged.

"You're on!" Dana declared and the two raced toward the Aquabase; Dana took the lead, but Kelsey was swifter and inched closer until she ran past Dana. She then passed Joel and Carter, who by looking and realizing there was a contest going on, joined it and Kelsey laughed and tried to outrun them, too.

Eventually, Chad won and the entire team was cheerful and laughing at their contest.

"Let's hit the showers, who's cooking breakfast today?" Carter asked while Joel and Chad were already taking off their wet shirts.

"Girls – "

"Boys – "

Four sets of accusing eyes stared at each other.

Carter laughed. "Well, Chad, you won – you decide."

Chad, looking very pleased, smirked at Dana and Kelsey.

"Dana, I'd like oatmeal porridge and a couple of pancakes, Kelsey. Thank you."

Dana moaned begrudgingly and turned away to her room, while Kelsey rolled her eyes and pushed Chad away, making her way to her room, to take a shower. The boys laughed.

Neither one noticed Carter's checking out Dana from the corner of his eye.

* * *

_Kelsey?_

Kelsey was in the middle of a shower when Ryan's voice echoed in her head;

_Hey, in the shower, later?_

_It'll be short, _she could practically hear the smirk, _I'm going to be late today, I've got this thing at work…_

_Oh…_

_I'll be done by six thirty, if the fair is still on?_ He sounded a little unsure, it was cute.

_Yeah, open until eleven pm. Tell me when you're there?_

_Great, yes. Enjoying your shower?_

She laughed at the lazy sound of his voice in her head. He was teasing!

_Wish I could be there._

Ryan was such a horny piece of work sometimes... how could she even say no to him, knowing how much he wants her? And she wanted him just the same.

_Wish you could be here, too._

_Soon. _He sounded wistful and Kelsey couldn't help but wondering whether it was a promise to her or himself.

_Bye, Ryan. _

She rolled her eyes and his laughter echoed in her head before drifting away.

Besides, she had breakfast to cook.

* * *

There sure was a lot of noise, kids and shrieks of laughter in the fair and Kelsey loved it; she loved the freedom to be a child in the fair, she loved the thrill of the Space Rollercoaster and Starflier. The adrenalin rush was extreme and fun and Kelsey was just about to find the Pirates ride when –

_I'm at the Info desk, where are you?_

Kelsey grinned like it was Christmas.

_I'll be there in a few._

She made her way to the Info desk where she saw Ryan leaning against it; he was wearing his black leather jacket and khaki slacks, coming closer to him she saw a black button on shirt with two first buttons open. His hands were deep in his pockets as he waited for her.

Smiling, she walked up to him; when he noticed her, he stood up and took a few steps toward her, waiting for her to come closer. She hugged him and he chuckled and ducked his head to kiss her briefly on the lips.

"Good to see you." She murmured against his lips.

"You, too, Kelsey." He smiled at her.

She took his hand in hers and entwined their fingers. "Let's go." She pulled him with her toward the Crazy Hoppers.

One ride later and Ryan laughed; "I can see why you love this, you like the rush."

Kelsey grinned. "Yep."

"I can give you a rush…" He muttered lowly and kissed her hotly. She kissed back passionately, grabbing his shirt for support.

"Like it?" He murmured to her lips, amused;

"More rush." She murmured back and kissed him.

"What's this?" He asked as they parted, pointing at a series of booths near the carousel.

"Game booths." She answered, his eyes lit up. Apparently he was the competitive type. Her type…

He grinned and looked at Kelsey; "Let's check it out."

She nodded and they walked to the booths, surveying the prizes. "See something you like?" Kelsey teased and he chuckled.

"Actually, since I do believe in equality, how about you win this tee shirt for me? My last climbing shirt was destroyed." He pointed at a gray, short sleeved tee shirt with the AQUABASE CHARITY FAIR 2000.

She laughed; "No problem."

They walked to the booth that had the tee shirt; she had to shoot monkey puppets in order to win points. The puppet worth most of the points was moving and Kelsey planned on knocking it off with just one shot.

"Win the lady a teddy bear!" The owner demanded and Ryan smirked;

"No, she's going to win that tee shirt for me." He pointed at the gray tee shirt and the owner snickered.

"Right. There you go." He gave Kelsey a toy air gun that shot small cork-like toy bullets and Kelsey smirked; having a Rescue Blaster as a weapon could come in handy sometimes.

With one direct shot she knocked off the moving monkey puppet and put the gun aside.

"Brilliant shot!" Ryan complimented, hugging her from behind. "That was amazing."

She grinned; "Thanks, Ryan."

The owner, quite stunned from her abilities wordlessly handed her the folded tee shirt that she offered Ryan.

"No, thank _you_. I'll wear it when we go climbing." He put the hems of the shirt inside his ants, allowing it to dangle from his waist like a tail.

"How sentimental of you." Kelsey laughed, making Ryan grin.

"I'm a sentimental man." He chuckled and took her hand. "My turn now! Come on!" he said excitedly and nearly dragged her to the next stand; a Darts stand. He threw a bill to the owner and received three darts. He didn't make it look hard when each of the three arrows nailed the red dot at the center of the dartboard, labeled 100 pts.

"Which one do you want?" Ryan turned to look at her, excited; she couldn't help but smile at his childish enthusiasm, it was a beautiful new side of him and she discovered she liked that a lot.

"I…don't know?" She looked at the shelves, packed with all kinds of plushy lions, tigers and bears (oh my!), dogs, cats….

"Okay, what's the biggest thing you have here?" Ryan asked the owner.

"That one." The owner pointed at a huge red plush puppy.

Ryan looked expectantly at Kelsey; he really wanted her to decide but she didn't want to take something she didn't like. Couldn't there have been something less ostentatious and _yellow_?

"No." She said. "No way."

"Pick one." Ryan insisted.

"Do you have anything yellow?" Kelsey asked the owner who seemed puzzled by her question;

"Um…I have this." He shrugged and pulled from below the stand a plushy black, white and gray lemur doll. It had a long, black and white tail and it was about the size of two basketballs put together.

"Oh! That's cute! I like him." Kelsey grinned; Ryan smilingly put the doll in her awaiting arms and she hugged it close.

"Thanks, Ryan! Love it." She smiled and hugged Ryan, who smiled at her.

"Your enthusiasm is very lovely, Kelsey." He commented and she laughed and took his hand in hers.

"Let's get some cotton candy."

"What is it?" Ryan seemed puzzled.

"You'll see, come on!" She led him with her to the food stalls. "Wait here for a moment and I'll go get us some." She smiled and let him hold her plush lemur. A moment later she returned carrying a pink fluff cloud on a stick.

"Try it." She offered him the large ball of fluff. Frowning, Ryan reached two fingers and touched the pink material.

"It's sticky." He complained.

"Try it!" She urged.

He took a pinch of the pink cotton candy and put it in his mouth; his expression was priceless! It seems he was disgusted, surprised and horrified at the same time. Kelsey couldn't help but laugh her heart out.

"Oh my god, Ryan!" She held her stomach.

He swallowed forcefully;

"Are you trying to poison me?" He demanded, making her laugh even harder. "Seriously, Kelsey, how can you eat this? It's terrible and I'm pretty sure all that sugar isn't the least bit healthy."

"Oh, Ry, lighten up!" She gave him a little shove and ate more of her cotton candy. "Hey, let's go to the Ferris Wheel." She offered, pointing on a huge wheel turning in the air.

Ryan pouted, making her laugh at his cuteness.

"What?" She smiled.

"No kiss of solace?" He whined and she laughed and stopped walking; she grabbed his shirt and pulled him for a long kiss. His mouth was sweet from the candy he consumed and Kelsey smiled against his tasty lips; when they parted, panting, she smiled at him.

"Come're." He muttered and motioned to grab her shirt when she yelped and scooted away. He ran to catch up with herm both were laughing. He caught up to her and he was just about to kiss her, heck, he was leaning in when –

"Hey, guys."

It was Carter. And, Dana? They were walking awkwardly, the back of their hands rubbing with each step, but they did not hold hands.

Kelsey felt a little sad for her friend; Carter was not an easy choice, not that Dana actually had a choice. Sometimes, love was just something your heart decided without sharing your brain and you had to deal with the consequences...

"Hi." Kelsey smiled; "Ryan, you know Dana and this is Carter."

"Ryan Hunters." Ryan introduced himself to Carter, offering his hand for a shake.

Carter took it. "Carter Grayson."

"Have you been to the Ferris Wheel? How's the line?" Kelsey asked Dana, giving her a 'how's Carter coming along' look.

"The line is starting to form, you should really head there if you don't want to wait for too long." Dana shrugged.

That was not a good sign and Carter sure needed a push in the right direction. Kelsey decided she would give him a little push. She looked at Ryan for a moment, he was holding Greg, her stuffed lemur while speaking to Carter…that's it!

She snatched the doll from Ryan's hands.

"Carter, look what Ryan got me!"

Ryan frowned at her, but she ignored.

"A stuffed animal is the best way to remember this fair by, don't you think?" She asked enthusiastically.

The red ranger seemed confused;

"I guess." He replied with a shrug. "You could take a picture, you know."

Dana glared at her and Kelsey resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the both of them; at Carter for being so damn practical and at Dana for not making any move.

"Stuffed animals are not the same as photos." She replied expertly. "You can hug them and… stuff."

"Uh, Kelsey, I think we should head to the Ferris wheel right now. Look, no one's queuing, it's our lucky chance." Ryan chirped in quickly and took Kelsey's arm. "Nice meeting you two. Bye." Ryan said and all but dragged her away until they were out of her friends' sight.

"What the hell was that?" Ryan asked;

"It was either that or punch him!" Kelsey replied angrily. "She likes him so freaking much and he's being such a douche bag! I can't take it."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe he doesn't want a relationship with her?" Ryan asked.

"She's the best person this planet has ever seen and he's an idiot for not taking what she offers him. He's so _dense_."

"You embarrassed her. And he didn't get it anyway." Ryan shot at her.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because he's standing alone near the cotton candy stand."

"What?!" Kelsey asked, furious; "Oh my god, that wimp, I'll _kill_ him!"

Ryan grabbed her before she could march right up to Carter and hurt him, bad. She even threw what's left of her cotton candy to the ground with her rage.

"Kelsey, _enough_ with the meddling, you did all you could do to help her. It's in Carter's hands now." Ryan told her quietly, sensibly.

"It's not fair." Kelsey spoke to his chest where she buried her face. "Dana is such a good person and all of her tears…it's because of him. I hate to see her hurting over him. I like him a lot, he's my friend, too, but he can be such a – "

"It's not your decision to make. Leave them be." He rubbed her back gently. "If they're meant to be, they'll find each other when the time is right. Maybe he needs some time." Ryan was making sense again and she turned her head just a little to look at him;

"I'm so happy I have you." She whispered and he held her tighter and kissed her hair, her temple and her cheek before pressing his lips to hers. She felt desperate to feel him, taste him; suddenly frightened to lose him and to be left a broken half. Like Dana was. She clung to him with great need, their kiss turned heated and urgent, their hands gripping each other;

They parted for air and panting, Ryan touched his nose to hers; "You bring joy to my life, Kelsey." He whispered and she nodded and pressed her lips to his for a brief kiss.

"We should go, should we?" She asked sadly.

He smiled; "To the Ferris, then we could be alone, if you like."

She smiled and took his hand, entwining their fingers and pulled him with her toward the Ferris. There wasn't much of a line and Kelsey realized she didn't mind waiting as long as she was curled into Ryan;

"You're cold." He stated and in a moment his jacket was on her shoulders.

"Thanks, but it only means you'll be cold now." She touched his cheek, smiling.

"I'll be fine, my sweet." He smiled at her, his dimple showing.

"I love your dimple." She murmured to him and he grinned, chuckling.

"Come on." He took her hand and led her to their compartment on the Ferris Wheel. They sat together hand in hand, their bodies so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. She liked that, he kept her warm.

"We missed the sunset." She noted, lying her head on his shoulder.

"I know, but the view in the dark is even more spectacular."

"The city is beautiful," She agreed; "The bay is so colourful with all the lights!" Ryan squeezed her hand and she looked at him;

"You're gorgeous, Kelsey." He kissed her hand and she blushed at his compliment.

"You're embarrassing me." She admitted and he chuckled. She sighed and looked at the skies above them; "The skies are enchanting tonight."

"I know what you mean." Even his voice smiled at her; "Look, there's Polaris, the star of the north." He pointed at a shiny spot of light up above.

"Wow." She as baffled; "And that one?" She pointed at a very bright spot.

"That's Mars." He answered.

"Teach me." She pleaded and he laughed shortly.

"I will, we could go to the park and watch the stars. I think the lights of the city wouldn't disturb us there." He explained and she smiled, contented.

"You know everything, Ryan. I love it." She murmured to the skin on his neck.

"I know nothing but you." He sweet talked her, making her laughed quietly.

"This is not working on me." She teased him and he grinned.

The Ferris came to a stop and Kelsey realized the ride was over. She gently pulled back from Ryan and let him take her hand and lead her to a secluded corner of the fair.

"I didn't bring my bike, so I thought I could show you a different way of travel." He smiled.

"What way?" She was curious at this unspecific meaning of transportation. He smirked and pulled her closer to him, she liked that thought and clung to him. "Ryan?"

"Close your eyes." He smiled and she did as she was told.

There was a slight breeze in her hair and she clung closer to him, his arms held her tighter.

"You can open them."

She did.

They were at their spot at the park.

"Did you just use - - ? "

"Yes."

"You haven't flown me on a broom, haven't you?"

He laughed. "No, not a broom. We disappeared from one place and reappeared the exact same minute at another."

"Oh."

"It wasn't bad. Was it?" He asked tenderly.

"No, I hardly felt it." She smiled and snuggled closer to him. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"I'll just put a blanket on the grass and we could stargaze a little." He pulled away from her and by the time she realized he was going to make a blanket reappear out of thin air, he was already spreading it wide on the grass.

"Come on." He invited and laid back on the blanket. Shaking her head, Kelsey joined him on the blanket. She made sure she was as close to him as she could, she didn't want to be away from him now.

She stared at the skies wondrously. The vast, dark blue skies overwhelmed her, its infinity and then there were the stars, glitters in the thick darkness.

"Are you cold?" He asked, concerned, taking her hand in his.

"No, I'm fine. Are you?"

"No." He breathed. "You're quiet."

"I'm waiting for my star lesson." She smiled and turned her head to look at him. He touched her cheek with his finger.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful forest nymph, her name was Callisto." Ryan started and Kelsey smiled and let her head fall on his shoulder. "King of Gods, Zeus, saw her once and immediately fell in love with her." His voice was as smooth as velvet and so low all of a sudden. "The only problem was that Zeus was married to Hera, who was furious as his line of affairs. In her fury, she turned Callisto into a large bear, to roam the forests alone, unattractive to Zeus. One night, her son, Arcas was hunting, on a sordid train of events he has started to follow his mother's trail. He them saw a giant bear and aimed his bow and arrow, but then a second before he released the arrow, Zeus turned him into a bear as well and put both mother and son in the skies, where they could be unharmed."

"That's beautiful."

"Callisto, now called Ursa Major, easy to find her because seven stars from the constellation are organized as a Big Dipper. Here, see them?" He pointed at the skies, drawing the lines between the stars.

"Yes. And Arcas?" She asked curiously.

"Arcas is the little dipper, Ursa Minor. Here." He pointed at the stars again; "The handle of Ursa Minor is Polaris, the star of the North." He explained;

Kelsey nodded, relaxed; Ryan pleasant voice slowly sending her to sleep.

"The seven stars in Ursa Minor are the seven daughters of…"


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** Hello! Might sound a little strange but I forgot to update? Passover is just around the corner (two weeks) and I intend on finishing this tale around that time (: Please bear with me ;) Happy smutful reading!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Ten**

She woke up, a little confused; how could she be sleeping when Ryan was telling her such wonderful tales of gods, animals and love in the Greek mythology, explaining about the stars and constellations… was there anything the guy didn't know?

A thick cover was keeping her warm, according to the heavy weight on her body and a steady rise and fall rhythm right beside her indicated she was with Ryan still.

She opened her eyes, suddenly dazzled by sunlight; she hurried to shut her eyes again, unsure whether from the sunlight or from the possible complication of not coming home last night.

She won't live it down if anyone other than Dana, and possibly Chad, know this. The horrifying shrieks of laughter from Joel were already ringing in her ears, not to mention Carter's general disapproval and what would Captain Mitchell say? There were way too many people involved in her love life, she noted gloomily. Well, at least she had a love life, opposed to the wanna be love life or the wistfully love life some of her teammates were… experiencing.

Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes again, this time looking around; she was in a large white room with nothing furnished except for the bed she was currently lying in and a modest-looking white closet; she was lying under a heavy and what felt like feathery white covers and from a little peek from the corner of her eye, Ryan was sleeping next to her;

Only then she realized a part of the weight that was pining her down to the bed was his arm that laid around her and made sure she was so close to him that his breath tickled her ear, a sensation she welcomed with a blush. His muscular arm was naked and she suspected he wasn't wearing much under the cover, which only led her to realize she was missing her jeans and socks.

Calm down.

She took even, deep breaths.

She still had her underwear on, so maybe Ryan just took the jeans off to make her more comfortable.

Then she realized he must be without his own jeans, partly because who does sleep in his jeans? And partly because, well, to judge from the one muscular leg that was currently between her legs…there didn't seem to be any part of clothing he was wearing except for maybe an underwear, if to judge by the thin piece of cloth that tickled her hip bone.

She carefully shifted on her stomach, letting her face drown in his pillow; she was so close to him that she felt the heat emanating from his body. She turned her head and watched him sleeping; he was lying on his stomach, his head on the pillow slightly falling toward her. He seemed innocent, boyish; his hair was rumpled, there was dirty blond sticking everywhere and golden morning stubble decorated his face, she couldn't help but grin at him.

He looked so different!

In his sleep there were no masks of strength, of calculated response and she realized that he was so very vulnerable at that precise moment. A blind spot in his shield and in spite of how much she loved him, she knew there were many walls to break.

He opened his eyes, they were unfocused and he smiled at her and he buried his face in the empty space of the pillow, right between her neck and shoulder; his leg returns to laying between her legs so she could feel him against her hip.

She debated whether to wake him or not; she couldn't tell what time was it and fearing it was early noon and that she might be needed, she decided to give him a sweet wake up call.

Smiling, she kissed his nose, then his cheek, his forehead and the corner of his mouth.

When he didn't respond to her gentle ways of waking him, she couldn't help the smirk as she gently rubbed her hip against him;

"Kelsey…" His hoarse voice was warning even if a little muffled by the pillow.

"Morning, Ry." She giggled.

He groaned;

"Aw, come on. Don't I get a little morning kiss?" She teased, pulling away from him slightly.

Only to be whisked closer to him a moment later, pinned beneath him as his hot lips descended upon hers hungrily. Moaning in surprise and pleasure, Kelsey closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment; her insides were starting to burn with desire and what started as an innocent (well, not so much) kiss was taking a turn to the more lustful, firey side.

"Not little." She gasped when they parted for air.

He smirked, shaking his head as he held himself above her. "Good morning, Kelsey."

He kissed her again, this time slowly, sweetly – and shortly. He shifted, resting most of his weight on his forearms as he stared down at her; he smiled.

She sent her fingers to sink in his hair.

He laughed and shook his head, his straight hair moving everywhere. "I need a haircut."

She grinned and pulled on his ear and then – his nose affectionately. He tried to bite her fingers but she pulled away.

"What am I doing here?" She asked then.

"You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you, so I kidnapped you." He smiled and kissed her nose. "Best decision ever."

She laughed. "Thanks, it's kind of great waking up with you, Ryan Hunters."

"I know." He smirked and she scratched his shoulder vengefully, making a face. He laughed. "Seeing you first thing in the morning is something I could enjoy getting used to." He kissed her jaw, but it was his words that made her shiver;

"In cold mornings I would keep you warm," He kissed his way down her neck. "The hot ones we could steam away together…" He licked the base of her neck.

Her mind barely managed to register his words, but when they did sink in, she couldn't help that silent prayer that one day they'll come to life;

"Kelsey…" He whispered upon her skin, nuzzling his face in her neck.

She peered down at him.

"Can I?" His hand slid under her shirt and she raised her arms, allowing him to pull her shirt off and throw it away, leaving her in only her white bra and yellow panties.

He stared down at her, making her self conscious; it wasn't the first time he saw her half naked and he seemed so hypnotized. It was flattering and embarrassing altogether, it must have been shown on her cheeks because he kissed her lips briefly and sighed;

"I must be embarrassing you," He paused and smiled at her. "You shouldn't be though. I only stare because you're so beautiful." His voice was as soft as a cloud.

He raised his eyes to gaze into her eyes and something inside of her snapped; every limitation, every rational thought, just flew off of the window. There was something new builder, something else, thicker that just fire, heavier than lust;

The passion that seized them both, suddenly, was overwhelming and demanding; their kisses were not sweeter anymore, their touch scorching, his lips nibbling hers, her fingernails biting into his skin, the urgency was almost too much to handle.

"Kelsey, can I?" He stared up at her, his mouth hovering above her breasts.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded; it was embarrassing but she felt better that he asked, that he gave her a little control of what was going on: she was so new at this. Still she couldn't help but feeling this was right, this intimate, private revealing of her body, their body, was the physical aspect to what they were going through in their minds, in their hearts.

She barely remembered how he managed to take off her bra, but before she could register it was gone, one nipple was already hard in his hot mouth. He was sucking and licking the pink tip with passion, making her moan at the new sensation; her entire body tingled, sending shivers up and down her spine;

"Kelsey…" He moaned and moved up to kiss her lips while his hand descended lower; "Can I – ?"

Two fingers played with the hems of her panties and she wasn't exactly sure how all of this is going to work but she trusted Ryan. She knew he wouldn't hurt her and thus, she agreed.

"Yes." She whispered, but his hand moved away and he pulled away, offering his hand to her, helping her on her knees just like he was. They were facing each other, in an arm's reach from one another.

"You've never done this." He stated gently.

She gulped and nodded, agreeing.

"You should've told me." It wasn't exactly a scowl but it did make her want to cover herself and run away. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. "Come here."

She hugged him and he squeezed her against him, her breasts flattening against this chest, his hard bulge nestling against her mound.

She rested her head on his shoulder. Somehow, he felt comforting and the embarrassment melted away, she felt more at ease.

He took her hand gently, pressing it against his lips, he kissed the inside of her hand and then put it against his cheek. He was stubbly, making her smile. He then guided her hand to slide down his neck to his chest;

"Yours." He reminded her, just like he did in that time, at the park. He guided her hand, gently stroking his slightly hairy chest, fluttering on his nipple, then back up.

"This is okay." He let her stroke his chest. "This is too." He gently folded her fingers making her graze his skin with her nails. "And this is not bad, either." He pressed her hand gently, making her nails bite into his skin in a way that left little nails marks on his skin.

"They're all fine everywhere." He explained and Kelsey nodded. He was familiarizing her with his body, teaching her what he liked. Would she need to do the same? She wasn't sure she could cope with that.

"Try." He challenged.

Kelsey couldn't help the smile; she stroked his chest gently, venturing to his stomach, then grazed his skin, he shivered and Kelsey felt more secured. Powerful, even. She let her hands define the muscles in his arms, gently wrapping those of his back as she held him close.

With a smile, she noted he closed his eyes.

She let her palm press down against his spine gently, making him groan; empowered, Kelsey was braver now; she moved in front of him again and licked his nipple, testing his reaction: he was shivering again. Smirking, she licked the other nipple while playing with the other; they were both hard and delicate. When she had enough of one, she moved to the other while her hand played with his belly button and the soft trail that led downward.

His hand caught hers; she looked up to see him watching her softly; "My turn."

She blushed and he smiled.

"Not so brave now, huh?" He chuckled.

"Shut up." She punched him in the chest. He grinned, his hand resting on where she hit him.

"That's more like it." He smiled and kissed her; she registered that he was drawing her nearer to him, both of his arms around her; she sighed to his lips; yes, closer to him seemed like a really good idea.

His arms moved from her waist to her butt and gave it a squeeze. Kelsey pulled back from the kiss they shared.

"Seriously?"

"What?" He frowned.

"Did you just squeeze my butt?"

"You don't like it?" He asked, his hand rubbing her butt cheeks now. "Your butt is sexy, I can't help it. Unless you want me to?"

She laughed and put her hands in his butt, squeezing his butt cheeks just the same.

He laughed; "That doesn't bother me, Kelsey."

"Me neither." She shrugged and he laughed again and pushed them both on their side on the bed, hands still on butts, eyes deep in each other's.

"I worry that you're too shy to tell me anything sex related." He told her seriously;

"It's embarrassing." She admitted.

"I need to know. This is supposed to be fun and carefree, mutual. Mutual is important, not about me, not about you. About us."

She understood that.

"I trust you, I'm just, well, I've never…" She blushed and shrugged. "This is kind of intimidating."

"It's more of fear of the unknown thing rather than…just sex." She added monotonously.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, staring into her eyes;

"Yes." Her reply was immediate, sincere.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I only want you to experience the highest of pleasures I can provide you." He explained, his eyes not moving away from hers; she knew he was telling her the truth, in which her trust in him was not in vain.

She nodded.

"Will you trust me enough to take off your panties?" He whispered.

Kelsey blinked and with a slow motion took off her panties. His eyes left hers, drinking the entire sight of her so profoundly that she couldn't help her reddening cheeks.

"Will you allow me to kiss you? The whole of you, my sweet Kelsey, every inch of your body." He begged her and she nodded, gulping; she let him lead her on the bed, lying on her back, she watched him as he sent her a small smile and moved to kiss her left foot.

He trailed kisses along her ankle and moved to her calf; the touch of his hot lips on her skin was intoxicating. He trailed soft, lingering kisses up her knee and onto her thigh, his hot breath tickling the junction of her thighs. He then moved to kiss her other leg, trailing the same soft kisses, making her shiver as he discovered a weak spot behind her left knee.

This hot and cold game was driving Kelsey insane; she never knew her body parts could be used as arousal hot-spots, every nip or lick made her moan. Small electric shocks hit right there, that spot between her legs.

He sucked her hip bones and then trailed kisses up her stomach, planting in a kiss between her breasts and then biting her chin gently before kissing her lips deeply. The sweet, addictive sense of his kisses was so familiar and so strong to her, irresistible. How could she ever deny him anything?

Her arms naturally wrapped around his shoulders as they kissed leisurely, then heatedly, before he pulled away;

"If you don't like anything that I do, stop me." He commanded, searching her eyes.

"Okay." She whispered.

"Kelsey, please." His eyes begged her and she gulped and nodded.

"I'll tell you to stop." She added;

He took her hand and let her cup his cheek, then led her hand to his hair; her finger twined with his hair. "Feels good." He murmured, and then he collected her fingers to a fist and pulled a little. "It's okay, don't pull too hard because then it's painful."

She nodded and he smiled and kissed her again, her fingers rubbing his scalp gently, making him groan to her lips.

"My sweet Kelsey…" He bit her earlobe, she moaned and he sucked his way to the apex of her thighs. Before she could understand what he was planning, he licked her down there, his hands caressing her thighs.

"Spread your legs, kitten. Let me worship you." He begged and she agreed and (despite her embarrassment) spread her legs and - -

She shuddered;

It felt tingly and sweet in a painful kind of way. He didn't hurt her but she then realized how his actions, the soft licking, the light nibbling, were making her want more and more of this pleasure. So much more need was building and she didn't know how to quench it.

"Ryan…"

His mouth on her was as sweet as honey, he made her moan his name. Her hands flew to his hair, grasping him gently, then harder as she wanted more. His tongue dipped inside of her and she found herself grinding her pelvis against him. She felt like every part of her body was on fire, Ryan's fire, she closed her eyes arching her back wantonly. Nothing she has ever felt could compare to this feeling of pleasure and liberation, of natural intoxication;

"Ryan…" She moaned. "More."

She felt tension building up in her body, a sensation of divine pleasure that only grew. Nothing could be more pleasant, more satisfying, she was sure of it! Right now his hand held her down as his mouth found that little sensitive nub and gently sucked on it. Kelsey felt like her mind is about to explode, there was so much feel into everything, electricity going up and down her body, making her shiver, making her moan delightfully.

He licked his lips while gazed up at her from between her legs; was there a way she could want him any more than she already does? She wondered. Just the sight of him was making her want to push him down and - -

She gulped.

Right now, she wanted more of that unending pleasure he offered her with his mouth. There was no way this was going to stop now, not before she passed out or something. He plunged his mouth onto her again, his tongue teasing while his long hand massaged one of her breasts.

"Mm…Ryan…" She moaned, she couldn't help it;

She bit her lip, one of her hands was now in his hair, pulling a little, scratching a lot. He was smirking when he raised his head to look down at her again, his eyes seemed wicked, in a way, horny. It only made her want him more.

With the undying want, there was a terrible and yet so wonderful need building and Kelsey was sure she was delirious. She arched her back again and felt Ryan's hands pressing her down as his mouth brought her to the peak, calling his name as she came.

She panted, fighting to steady her breaths as her heated body started to cool down from the lustful pleasuring that Ryan did provide. Her eyes were still closed and her muscles strangely stiff.

Ryan crawled up between her legs, laying his weight on the arm he was now leaning against the mattress, right beside her shoulder. She barely opened her eyes and he crushed her lips with his, harshly. It was a little strange, tasting herself on his mouth and she couldn't help but wonder when it's going to be him who would taste himself on her mouth.

Yes, that was a very interesting thought;

"Best moment of my life." She sighed and heard him chuckle; she smiled and opened one eye to look at him, he was busy in kissing lazily that spot between her neck and shoulder, then he buried his nose between her breasts, licking the skin as he inhaled her scent;

"You're a goddess, kitten." He whispered to her skin. "I would please you till the end of days." He vowed to her.

She blushed.

"I thought this was supposed to be mutual?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he smirked.

"Don't worry, sweet thing, all in due time."

She laughed and hugged him as he now buried his face in her neck.

"My beautiful Kelsey." He murmured against her skin. "Nothing is sweeter than your taste on my lips." His fingers caressed her arm.

She blushed;

"Nothing is better than lying here with you." He kept murmuring, as if it were a prayer to her. The hard bulge that nestled between her legs said otherwise;

"I want to please you, too." She told him softly, making him plant a kiss on her chin and hover above her.

He was smiling and touched his nose to hers gently.

"One step at a time, Kitten." He whispered and kissed her lips gently, calmly.

"Why?"

"I used most of my control for now." He admitted as he stared into her eyes. "It took every drop of my strength to see you so beautifully wanton and not take you." He explained. "Even if I had a little control left, I won't last enough to teach you how to please me." He smiled sweetly.

"You break my defenses, my sweet."

She blushed.

"Come closer." He asked and when she pressed to his side he rolled them over, so that she was lying on top of him. Their bodies were aligned and so beautifully fitting. She smiled as she settled her head on his chest.

"Tired?" He chuckled and one of his arms wrapped her.

"Mhmm…" She nodded and yawned.

"Get some rest." He murmured. "I'll wake you up later."

"Thank you, Ryan." She murmured sleepily. "Thank you for everything." She drifted off; the beating of his heart lulling her to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

**A/N:** Hi! Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all! Sorry for the long absence, I had a small writer's block. This is the update for today and tomorrow we shall have another :) Happy reading!

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Eleven**

She climbed the stairs slowly, deliberating; she wasn't sure if Ryan is going to be there, waiting, after all he has been avoiding her for the last few days, ever since that morning. In his bed.

She gulped.

She didn't know what she did wrong, but since that day he didn't arrive to any of their sunset meetings, and always gave her some lame excuse that she accepted evenly. It was insulting and hurting, and still she didn't have the heart to not give him a chance for a remedy. So she climbed each stair at a time, slowly, while she was arguing with herself; she wasn't one hundred percent sure that she wanted to see him again, not after he repeatedly denied her of their sweet encounters at their spot, and not to mention she had barely one night's worth of sleep since they shared a bed. As if it was impossible to sleep without him now.

When she reached the upper promenade, she saw him already waiting there; he was leaning against the light blue banister. He straightened up when he saw her and smiled, making her blush at the awkwardness she felt. He was just so comfortable compared to her!

"Hey." He greeted and offered his hand;

"Hi." She avoided his eyes.

She took it and he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist, considering her backpack and climbing equipment;

"I missed you." He murmured to her ear, making her shudder at his hot breath on her ear. "Come, bring me your backpack, I'll load it on the truck."

She did as he asked silently, watching Ryan easily holding up her huge kitbag and equipment and put it on rear of the truck. When he was done, he came closer to her again, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her against him gently.

"I thought you were avoiding me." She admitted, looking away from him, embarrassed. When he didn't say anything, she dared to steal a glance at him and he caught her chin with his hand, gently holding her face in place.

"I wouldn't do that to you." His voice was so soft.

"Well, you could've fooled me," She shrugged. "That's exactly how it felt like."

He shook his head and took her hands in his.

"I wasn't avoiding you, Kelsey." He begged her. "I got caught up with work and when I was done, I had to get everything ready for today. I didn't expect it to take this long."

She swallowed; she didn't expect him to be so open, even though she should've: he really didn't hide anything from her. After all she could talk to him about everything and it had to say something about the guy.

"I guess I thought it was important." She sighed and then shrugged. "We don't have to meet every day, I understand if you can't keep doing that."

"I want to keep doing just that." He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, one of his hands coming to rub his neck. "Look, Kelsey, I really had a lot to do and got caught up with things; still, I want you to know that you're my number one priority in any given situation."

"I don't have to be. I get it." Why did her eyes fill with tears?

"Yes, you do and you are." He whispered. "I don't want you to think that I would ever prefer anything over you or that I'm not telling you the truth."

"I trust you." She shook her head. "You don't have to explain anything, I'm not judging you."

"I know. I dislike causing you pain; I was acting like a fool. I should've told you more of all I was doing, but I promise you will see it today."

She nodded, staring into his eyes.

"Forgive my foolish behavior." He begged, falling onto his knees. "Forgive me."

"I forgive you." She whispered and he hugged her knees, his head resting against her stomach.

"Get up, Ryan." She rubbed his scalp and he smiled and rose to his feet. She jumped on him and hugged him tightly.

"You are my first priority, kitten, and if something that I did ever make you feel like you're not, then it was surely a mistake." He murmured to her ear before kissing her cheek. She inhaled his sandalwood scent and closed her eyes, enjoying his proximity;

"I missed you." Her lips forming the words on the skin of his neck, making him shiver lightly. She smiled as she planted a slow kiss on his skin and pulled back a little, watching him through long lashes;

"Shall we?" She smiled, watching his unfocused eyes;

He blinked.

"Uh, yes, of course." He smiled and took her hand in his, leading her to her seat, opening the door for her and shutting it behind her after she went in. He then quickly climbed onto his seat and started the car.

Not before long they were speeding out of green Mariner Bay and into the yellowish-brown wilderness of the dry road toward Stone Canyon. Most of the drive was silent and Kelsey relaxed in her seat and watched the road and Ryan lazily; the latter seemed concentrated on the road, his driving skillful as the truck cruised steadily and swiftly on the road.

"You're quiet." He commented a few moments later, as if reading her mind;

"I'm tired and this ride is making me sleepy." She stifled a yawn, watching him smiled softly.

"Sleep then, kitten, and gather your strength. You'll need it." His right hand slipped from the wheel and rested on her thigh. "Rest, sweet Kelsey, and I'll wake you when we're there."

"How much longer is it?" She asked drowsily.

"Long enough."

"Ryan, you shouldn't drive alone. Shouldn't I amuse you?" She suggested, grinning;

"You always amuse me." He smirked and brought his right hand to squeeze her thigh gently. "In any case, you look exhausted and it would please me more if you slept."

She nodded, curling into herself on the seat; "Maybe you're right." She mumbled.

"Why are you so tired?"

It seemed the question came from miles away and Kelsey barely managed to mumble the answer before surrendering to dreamland.

"Couldn't sleep without you."

Had she been awake, she would have seen him biting a silly, pleased grin.

* * *

"My Sweet, wake up."

Funny, the voice sounded like Ryan. What was Ryan doing in her bedroom?

"Kelsey, we've arrived. You'd want to see this."

A kiss on her head.

A kiss on her forehead.

On her nose.

On her neck.

She blinked; "Ryan?"

He was standing close to her, the door of her side of the car was open behind him and his hand was on her cheek, his fingers tickling her skin.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smiled sweetly and she took his hand in hers.

"Morning. What time is it?" She let go of his hand gently and stretched in her seat. And then hopped down to the ground next to him;

"It's ten o'clock." He smiled and took her hand in his. "Come on, I made some herbal tea, it's a good start for our climb."

She smiled and followed him; apparently while she was sleeping, Ryan set up a little fire and there was herbal tea slowly boiling in an iron kettle above the flames. Kelsey carefully stole close to the kettle and sniffed the warm steam coming out of it;

"Wow, smells amazing." Kelsey smiled back at Ryan who was sitting on an old tree trunk. "What herbs have you got there?"

She examined the small fire from a couple of steps away; then turned to look at Ryan who was comfortably gazing at her from a few steps away.

"Mint, Lemon Verbena, Salvia: minty and awakening." He smiled sweetly and Kelsey laughed and walked to him.

"Are you insinuating that breath stinks?" She teased, now leaning against his shoulder from behind.

"No, although I might have to check it up close, just to be sure." He stood up and caught her in a quick movement, pushing her against him and covered her mouth with his, chuckling lightly.

"You are very animalistic, do you know that?" She asked cheekily against his lips. His warm black eyes shone with amusement and he growled and bit her neck, making her burst out in laughter.

Ryan grinned and sat back on the tree trunk, pulling her on top of him.

She smiled at him and touched his cheek fondly before lowering her yes to look at his broad shoulder, suddenly realizing he was wearing the tee-shirt she won for him at the fair.

"Nice tee-shirt." She commented nonchalantly.

The tee-shirt's grey color was decorated with large, block letters spelled: AQUABASE CHARITY FAIR 2000.

"Thanks, my girlfriend got it for me. Don't think she sweat over it."

At that, Kelsey turned and gave him an unpleasant glare. "Really, now?"

"You made it seem too easy." He smiled and a very amused Kelsey touched his nape with gentle fingers, making him shiver lightly;

"Do continue." She smiled;

He laughed and offered her his hand and Kelsey took it, their fingers entwining naturally. He squeezed her hand once and brought it to his lips. Kissing the back of her hand once and she couldn't help the blush.

All of those simple gestures were so…intimate all of a sudden, so sweetly theirs. He made her stop breathing sometimes, because of all the emotions he was awaking inside her, lust and love, shyness and boldness, so many contrasts. Was it even normal?

Their eyes locked and she suddenly knew that this was it; she would never find anyone who's like him, there was kind nobility in the way he treated her, this gentleness of thought and sort of a natural consideration to everything she was. His eyes gleamed pleasantly, almost as if they were black flames, flickering, consuming and yet preserving everything. And she knew it was only so because he felt that way. That way when you can live your whole life not knowing there was something missing until you meet that person, that missing piece of the puzzle.

"Come here, you." He murmured and pulled her to him, kissing her demandingly. One of his arms securing her against him, the other massaging her hip and making sure she's very well pressed against _him_.

"Ryan…" She moaned lightly at the feel of his growing hardness against her hip. His mouth was now examining the textures of her neck, making her tingle and squirm in his arms; his chest rumbled in a quiet, enjoyable laughter.

She put her hand on his face and pushed away in a protest, giggling at her immediate affect on him. Immediately, the hand on her thigh rose to gently grab her hand and let him continue his research.

"Alas, there is tea to drink and a mountain to climb." His sigh tickled her skin, and with a last fond nibble, he unhanded her.

She didn't move away as quickly as he thought and bit the tip of his nose. "I thought I was a number one priority?" She teased.

"Number one." He murmured and showed her with his finger the number one. She made the same gesture with her forefinger, making him laugh and kiss her neck once.

She jumped from his lap, taking his hand and led him to the fire.

"I was promised tea." She reminded him and he chuckled and walked to the fire. A few short moments later he held two small glasses filled with hot minty tea.

"Careful, it's hot." He smiled as he handed her one of the glasses.

"I will." She took it and immediately ducked to put it on the ground, put the two fingers that held the glass in her mouth, hoping to cool the light burns. Ryan was still holding one glass that seemed just as searing at the one she had put on the ground.

"How are you holding it? It's too hot!"

"Perhaps my hands are too calloused and I do not feel the burn." He frowned; "I did not intend to cause you harm, Kelsey." He sighed and she nodded.

"I know, Ry." She kissed his cheek softly, he seemed so hard on himself!

He took her burnt fingers and kissed them slowly, making the sting of pain dissolve in a second.

"Back to kissing my wounds?" She smiled.

"Kissing my wrongdoings." He corrected harshly.

"It's okay. Things like this happen sometimes." She shrugged.

"Not to me." He answered. "I will not hurt you."

She kissed him hard, making him drop the glass he was holding and wrapped his arms around Kelsey tightly. She laid her head on his shoulder comfortably, enjoying this closeness.

"I don't ever want to hurt you, not even by accident." He murmured as he rubbed her back. "Not a scratch." He added and she smiled.

"I know."

"Forgive me?"

"Always." She smiled at him. "Now, let me taste that tea and let's go!" She pushed him a little. "I can't wait to see that mountain!"

He smiled at her enthusiasm and nodded once, pouring two more glasses of tea. This time, though, he hasn't let her touch the glass before he put it to his cheek to make sure it was okay.

"Are you babying me, Ry? You test the heat of the glass as if you were testing a bottle for a baby." Kelsey rolled her eyes, making him chuckle and hand her the glass.

"I don't usually repeat my mistakes, kitten." He smiled and she rolled her eyes and sipped carefully from the glass. The tea was aromatic, very minty, very sweet and with a faint touch of lemony goodness.

"This is heaven." She mumbled and sipped some more. "Thanks, Ryan."

He smiled and poured himself a glass of tea, taking a big sip himself. He made a face and swallowed forcefully.

"That's way too sweet." He shook his head.

"No, it's great! It's as sweet as it should be." Kelsey contradicted.

"I don't have a sweet tooth, Kelsey, and this is too sweet. Almost as sweet as you are." He laughed.

"I am not too sweet." She frowned at him.

"Says you." He sighed lazily and chuckled when she stuck her tongue at him. "You should be very careful with that tongue, Kelsey. You wouldn't want it in trouble."

She cast him an arrogant glance and put her empty glass at the ground and crossed her arms on her chest. "Challenge me."

He sent her a lazy smirk before springing on his feet toward her; she spotted his springing and started running before he managed to get to her. Laughing hard she ran faster, gaining distance between them. She stopped when she decided he was far enough and breathed hard for a moment, and then she was suddenly in his arms. She felt his hurried, hot breath on her face a moment before he conquered her lips yet again.

"How'd you get here so fast?"

He smirked and in a moment they were standing near their truck.

"Cheater!" She called and he laughed.

"Hop in, I'll just get the kettle and it's a five minute drive to the mountain." He explained and she entered the car.

* * *

"All right up there?" Ryan shouted from below her.

"Yeah, I can't believe I've ever missed this place!" She yelled back down, stopping for a moment to appreciate the marvelous scenery all around her; she could see the light blue of the sea far in the horizon, greenery that that she could only relate to Angel Grove not too far ahead and next to her was Ryan, climbing to catch up with her.

She grinned at him; he was breathing quite heavily from the effort of catching up and his grey shirt was now dark with sweat, his muscles more defined as he held himself next to her.

"How much further have we got?" She asked him;

"About seventeen feet." He breathed and she smiled and took a careful step next to him.

"See that small tube near my neck?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah."

"Pull it very gently your way and take the lead off." She instructed; he nodded and did as she asked, taking off the yellow lead away from the black tube. He stared down at her quizzically.

"It's like a straw, drink from it."

He did, drinking so much that she could feel the weight of the water she carried in the hydration bag lifting. When he finished and was about to move in order to close the led she took the tube and drank herself, then closed the lead and pushed in backwards in order to keep climbing.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"You're welcome, shall we?"

"Ladies first." He grinned and she giggled and started to climb.

She knew he let her climb about three feet before he started moving the same way upward. Kelsey moved swiftly, moving her arms and legs lightly, her skilled eyes easily tracking those crevices she could place her feet and hands and keep climbing. Her advantage was in her size: she didn't weigh much nor her limbs were too big and despite of being mediocre heighted, it was easier for her to pull herself up and find stable, small places she could use as points of lift herself even more upward.

"Ryan, you good?" She called, looking down.

"On my way to you!" He called back and she smiled and looked up, trying to measure when she will finally be able to see the end of the climb. Surprisingly, she could already see the end and she grinned.

"Wooohooo!"

She heard Ryan laughing from bellow and kept climbing, energized, toward the end of the climb, the top of the mountain.

"Ten minutes and I'm there, Ry." She notified him.

"I'm right behind you, Kitten!" He yelled back and she laughed and vigorously kept climbing, narrowing the distance; in eight minutes she was already pulling herself up to a stable ground at the mountain top. She unbuckled herself and took off her backpack, stretching her body as she waited for Ryan to appear.

Four minutes later he showed up, pulling himself up skillfully and a moment later his backpack was deserted on the ground along with any ropes that were attached to him and his tee shirt.

"Kelsey, you're amazing." He smiled. "I climbed this mountain more times that I can count and you've beaten me to it. I can't describe how much I admire your ability and strength, I think it's pure magic to watch you climbing, so agile and natural. You are just so – "

She kissed him demandingly, not caring about the sweat, the stench or the fact they were filthier than a rat in the sewage.

"Thank you." She breathed when they parted.

"What for?"

"Not telling me some bullshit like 'I let you win' or something." She admitted.

"Has that really happened to you?" He asked as unfathomable expression showed on his face. Kelsey shrugged.

"It happens, sometimes." She admitted.

"I apologize for all the idiots you have the displeasure of knowing." He replied immediately, making her laugh embarrassedly. Did he mean Joel and Chad, as well? Sometimes they had a problem admitting they were being beaten by a girl, too.

"You were truly enchanting while climbing, you _are_ enchanting in general and I know a thing or two about enchantments, Kelsey." She blushed. "You know, I've seen you deal with a few unpleasant things, that I wish that never happened to you and you always surprise me with how well you react to things; even to my magic, you didn't call me a freak even once."

"Because you're not a freak, Ryan." She frowned. "Our world has demons and Power Rangers and so much mayhem and craziness, why wouldn't there be magic?"

He smiled at her and squeezed her in his arms.

"You please me, Kelsey. I am so proud and in awe of you, you're nothing like the crowd and I cherish you."

She smiled dreamily in his arms for a long moment, enjoying his words, his protection and his amazing willingness to be all that she wished her partner would be. They've stood together for along while, in each other's arms, watching the scenery in silence, only the sounds of their breaths and the beating of their hearts interrupting the complete silence around them.

* * *

**A/N:** Smut!Alert for tomorrow (; See you there!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

A/N: I'm a bad person, I know. I promised to update but my work took over my life: I've been working like crazy in the past few weeks. So, anyway, here you go. Please notice: **SMUT!alret.** Please **review** and let me know what you think.

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Twelve**

[Same day as previous chapter]

Ryan was covering Kelsey's eyes with his hands, leading her forward, closer into the cave he couldn't stop talking about. His excitement made her laugh; there was something so carefree and juvenile about this kind of boyish urgency. She loved it.

"Ready?"

"Yes!" She breathed;

"Really ready?" He laughed.

"Ryan!" She called; "Yes!"

And he moved his hands, gently laying them on her shoulders.

"Welcome to my home."

His words were soft and she stole a glance at him: his smile was as soft as his words. She blinked and turned her attentions to the spectacle in front of her; it was a huge cave, one might expect it to be dark and gloomy but it was so far from it! The first thing she noticed was the amount of light the cave had, the warmth it radiated, it was not a cave, it was a home. It made sense now, that Ryan called this cave his home.

"Come on, I'll show you around." He spoke excitedly and took Kelsey's hand in his, leading her inside. The first thing she noticed when they stepped inside was a gentle, almost transparent veil that she couldn't see from the outside. The entrance was a place for bonfires, it seemed, since there was a pile of wood waiting to be lit and remnants of burnt wood.

"You light fires?"

"Yes, it's never too cold or too warm inside, but sometimes I like to sit by the fire." He explained with a grin.

"Stargazing?" She offered and he grinned.

"Mostly in meteor showers, you must stay in the next one. It's due in May."

She nodded. "You can count on it."

"I do." He smiled, "Come on, Kelsey, let's go inside." He ushered and she grinned and let him lead her inside; she sensed a power shield, perhaps, When they stepped inside of the cave. It seemed to prevent the winds from coming in and probably the rain as well. She wondered whether it had other magical qualities but the thought did not linger as she got to see in details what seemed like a warm home from afar but now seemed so homey.

There was a huge super king size bed on the right with a small drawer. The covers were yellow and Kelsey couldn't help but laugh quietly; she noticed the floor wasn't the usual cold stone, full-of-sand floor, seemed cave-ish but was very clean and straight.

"This is amazing." She admired as her eyes moved from one detail to another; there was a big bookstand filled with books in all sizes, and a lamp pointed toward a comfy-looking fading green armchair right next to it. He even had a matching green stool for his feet when he's reading. Next to it was what seemed like a very small closet and Kelsey smiled at the sort of Spartan way of choosing his furniture.

"Do you like it?"

She tilted her head to look at him; he seemed nervous at his own question and she smiled softly. He had the most amazing home, she never knew anyone else who lived so close to nature, in peace.

"I love this place. Ryan, this is amazing, like a storybook!" She stared at him. "How did you…?"

"I've been living here for a long time," He explained. "It has changed with my growing magic." He smiled then.

"You've been living here alone?"

"Since I was fourteen." He answered and she frowned;

"That's a little lonely." She noted and squeezed his hand.

"Sometimes." He shrugged and she hugged him, burying her face in his chest. She felt a stab of pain at the sadness in his voice when he admitted he was lonely sometimes; she definitely remembered what it felt like, yet still couldn't help the small smile at the change, for them both: he wasn't' alone here anymore, they had each other. He held her close and kissed the top of her head and leaned his chin on her head, keeping her close in his arms.

"I'm sorry." She murmured to his skin.

"Of what? You did nothing wrong." He spoke softly.

"Apparently, I was late." She stared into his eyes and he laughed.

"No, you were right on time, kitten." He kissed her forehead. "Come, I'll show you where I take baths, you will enjoy it."

She nodded and followed him.

Deeper in the cave, there was a sort of hole in the ground, it looked like a personal pool. It wasn't big, and its roundedness reminded her of a Jacuzzi; the water seemed warm if to judge from the gentle steam rising from it, and sparkly.

"Wow, this is unusual." Her eyes widened.

"It's a natural hot water spring." Ryan explained; "I subdued the spring so it works the way I want." He shrugged. "The water change on an hourly basis, they contain some salts, so when you wash – you don't really need any soap."

"Ryan, you live in a personal paradise." She uttered, amazed.

"Want to take a dip?" He offered and she grinned;

"Now?"

"Of course." He answered, starting to unbuckle his belt.

She blushed as she kicked off her shoes and socks, and easily tore off her climbing yellow dry-fit tee and white sport bra, and then tended to peeling off her black tights and white socks. Then, naked, she was the first to gently hop down to the sparkling warm water.

"Wow!" She called, pleasantly surprised; the waters were as warm as a bath and the light sparkles they had revived her skin. She took in a deep breath and dived into the water before surfacing again, completely wet now.

Ryan laughed; he was already in the water and was watching her enjoying the simple delight the tub had brought her. She smiled at him and watched as he copied her actions and resurfaced close to her, pulling her close to him;

"This place is amazing… the only cave I've seen that is remotely similar is the Bat Cave and that's not even real." Kelsey told him wondrously while she wrapped her legs around his waist. His arms easily wrapped around her while his palms pressed against her butt, making sure she's staying this close.

"Your eyes are shining with wonder, it's very alluring." He commented smilingly, making her blush. "Now you can understand why the apartment in Mariner Bay is not my home, this is my favorite place upon the Earth, my home, and I'm proud we can share it now."

Kelsey straightened up and kissed his cheek; lengthily, her lips pressed against the still smooth skin of his left cheek. He smiled and pulled away from her only to kiss her lips heatedly when he grew close again.

She laughed against his lips and responded eagerly, suddenly noticing a stir under her butt; her cheeks colored red once she realized it was his hardness pressing against her. He released his hold on her gently, allowing her to stand, the waters reaching to her shoulders while they've reached his chest.

"Ryan…" She reached for him, seeking his closeness;

He offered her his hand and she took it. He entwined their fingers and she grinned, content at their touch, and insisted on standing so close to him that their stomachs touched when they breathed and her breasts touched his chest ever so gently.

"Don't pull back." She murmured, staring deeply into his black eyes; they were dancing with emotions, affection, compassion and fear? It didn't make sense: Ryan was never scared or afraid, of anything nor anyone!

Kelsey touched his chest with both of her hands, the gentle skin of her palm trailing on his warm skin lovingly, it must've been good, because Ryan closed his eyes. Her fingers played with his nipples for a short moment before she dug her nails into the skin of his chest hard, making him hiss and open his eyes, half smirking at her.

He pushed her roughly against him, his arms containing her in a limited space, while his teeth dug into her neck. The bite wasn't painful, it stung a bit but the excitement it stirred inside of her was immediate; waves of warmth ran up and down her body, a soft tingle stirred low in her;

"Vixen." He blamed as he lifted her against him again and lowered his head to suck on her bare nipples.

She groaned, her head falling back as she flew upon soft waves of pleasure; her hands urgently grabbed unto his shoulders, his nails digging into his skin again. She could feel him hard against her mound, it was velvety and firm and Kelsey desperately wanted to touch him and feel it, feel him;

There was no doubt in her mind what was going to have to happen in the next few moments, because if it wasn't – she'd die of starvation, of this unsatisfied need that was craving for being filled. Yet, it was as if Ryan could read her mind and thought differently, because in a moment, he gently slid away from her;

"Sweetness, the water will harm you if I dare to take you here." He breathed to her ear. "The salts will make you burn, come to bed with me."

She nodded;

He climbed out of the bath and wrapped a towel around his loins; Kelsey was busy climbing out of the bath herself that she didn't even get a chance to look at the whole of him apart from his firm butt. He offered her a towel, but then smiled and took her hand leading her to bed, seating her on the soft mattress and started gently rub the soft towel against her cheek, then the other.

She smiled widely.

He smirked and continued to slide the towel on her body; first, her neck, she lazily closed her eyes as the soft cloth moved across her skin, and she gasped when his lips soon followed. She felt him as he drew the outline of her body with his lips, making her eyes roll into her head, there was nothing but pleasure;

"Kelsey," He murmured against her lips, stopping his gentle nibble on her bottom lip and staring into her eyes; "Trust me, let me in." He rubbed his nose on hers, making her close her eyes in delight. She has never experienced such intimacy with anyone ever and for this first time, Ryan was making her feel so special, so cherished and cared for.

She knew he was taking this extra slow, wanting to make her feel confident and relaxed; he was gentle with his touches, the way his fingers glided softly upon her skin, dancingly, barely touching her skin and yet, she has felt that burn. There has been heavy petting between them before and she remembered those times like a huge fire erupting in every cell of her body, but not now; now it was patient and she knew he was guiding her through this. Teaching her.

She opened her eyes to see his black eyes staring at her, the back of his hand now rubbing her cheek gently, like he was waiting for her to come to.

She smiled;

"Do you feel courageous, my sweet?"

She nodded and he smiled and took her hand in his, placing her palm on his chest, letting her feel the tingles of his hair against her fingertips. She chuckled lightly and scratched his chest, because she remembered he said that he didn't mind; that made him laugh as he guided her hand across his chest, slowly descending lower, to his stomach. His skin was soft, but his muscles where hard and her fingers easily found their way in those little clefts that defined his abs, gently tickling as she pushed a finger to his tight bellybutton.

Then there was this soft trail of light blond hair leading lower and Kelsey looked at Ryan, asking for permission in his eyes last time he stopped her and she didn't feel comfortable daring again.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not shy." He smirked and as if to demonstrate, he swiftly pulled his towel and threw it away.

Her eyes widened a little, it was the first time she has seen a fully naked man. She swallowed slowly, unsure of how to react.

He said nothing, only took her hand that was still resting on his bellybutton and guided her to his member. He gently wrapped their joint hands around himself, moving her hand from tip to bottom and back, a couple of times.

"That feels so good." His eyes were closed and Kelsey smiled softly. It felt good to see him like that: leaning back on his both of his hands on the bed, his head tilted back and his eyes closed; he was starting to breathe heavily and he was biting down his moans.

It felt amazing to be the reason for his pleasure.

Suddenly he straightened up and blinked, pulling her closer to a kiss. It was beginning to heat, his kiss was wild, almost bruising.

"You're so beautiful when you blush." He murmured and gently pulled her closer to him. "You're restless, kitten." He commented, his eyes searching hers, making her squirm at their straightforwardness.

"What is it?" He gently stroked her cheek. "Tell me."

"I don't know," She blushed even harder. "And I want to. I hate not knowing."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I only want to please you, sweet Kelsey, nothing more and nothing less." His dark eyes shone wordlessly, promising sensations out of this world.

"I will use my lips," He kissed her nose. "My tongue," He licked her chin. "My teeth," He whispered as he scraped his teeth gently down her neck to her collar bone, which he later sucked.

"My hands." He spoke in a low tone, gliding his calloused palm from her shoulders down to her arms and then to her breasts, which he massaged and caressed; her nipples hardened and she couldn't stifle her moans of pleasures.

"Lay back on the bed." He whispered to her ear a moment before he bit her earlobe and sucked it, making her shiver as she allowed herself to sit up on the bed completely. She waited for him to join her and when he did, sitting next to her, she smiled and kissed him; her arms gently resting on his shoulders and she realized that she needed to give in to him, just this once, to let him guide her through this. To trust him enough with herself, she reminded herself that she already gave him this trust once and he only made her soar.

When they parted for air, panting, she grazed her fingernails against the skin of his shoulders, he hissed and taking it as an encouragement, she gave a long lick to one of his nipples and then to the other, making his breathing even more ragged.

His black eyes flickered when he nearly pounced on her, his mouth sucking on a spot on her neck, then sliding down to her breasts; he sucked one pink tip while fondling the other breast, making her moan and scratch his chest with her nails; with a low growl he moved to the other nipple, while his knee came between her legs gently.

She swallowed as she felt his knee going up between her legs and starting to rub against her. She bit her bottom lip and Ryan groaned lowly and raised his head to bite her lip at well, his eyes filled with intoxicated desire.

She touched his cheek gently, almost pushing him away only to pull him closer to a demanding kiss on his lips, he responded hotly, eagerly; her body aligned with his, her breasts flattening against his chest and her not-so-wet hair falling around her face as their kiss deepened, consuming them both, she felt his hands massaging her butt, squeezing gently, one of his finger wandered lower to play with her belly button ring and then snuck between her legs, caressing her hidden nub, teasing her, making her want more and more.

"Ryan…" She bit his bottom lip, hissing. "More…"

"It might hurt, my sweet." He explained.

"I know." She stared into those endless eyes that were full of concern to her. "I want this. You."

He nodded; _Kitten you'll be the death of me_, his voice echoed in her head as he kissed her neck and she entwined her fingers in his hair, caressing, even pulling a little.

He rubbed against her and she moaned;

"Please, Ryan!"

His mouth now tightened around hers when she suddenly felt him gently sliding inside her, he was hot and large and for some reason he struck a barrier. Kelsey blushed at her virginity. Ryan stared down at her, gently. "I promise, I won't harm you more than I have to." His hot mouth moved to suck her earlobe, making he shiver as she held his shoulders.

"I trust you, Ryan." She whispered to his cheek.

He entered a little forcefully and she felt something inside of her giving in, then felt a sharp pain and she knew he was completely inside of her. The pain, despite being sharp and seemed momentarily, was still there, it was uncomfortable and exerting; holding him a little tighter, she fought to take even breaths while she waited for the pain to subside. She knew it wasn't supposed to last long;

"My sweet…"

She stared up at him and he kissed her slowly, as if cherishing her and thanking her for accepting him. When they parted, he rubbed his nose on hers, an Eskimo kiss, she smiled and he smiled back at her.

"We're one person now." He whispered to her ear, making her smiled wider. He didn't say anything, but she could see him shuddering, from the exertion of trying to hold back, not moving to prevent her hurting.

She bit her bottom lip, suddenly feeling him nibbling her lip as well.

She laughed and he kissed her, she pulled back.

"Try." She asked and he bit a smiled and moved a little, watching her carefully;

Nothing hurt anymore, yes, it was slightly uncomfortable, but it was just because her muscles weren't used to this kind of activity…yet.

She nodded at him and he sent his arms to carefully wrap her legs around him, making her smile as he started moving; at first it was slow and steady, allowing her to feel every inch of his manhood rubbing against her pleasantly but after a short while it wasn't enough.

"Ryan, more." She moaned and he increased his pace, groaning at the rising friction of their bodies;

"Mmm… ugh, Ryan…" She encouraged as he moved faster and faster, only making her want more, endlessly more; the need that was building inside of her was greater than she has ever experienced, she couldn't get enough of this hot liquid pleasure. There were no words to describe her desire to that final release, that desire to see him reaching that height of pleasure because she provided him with it;

"Kelsey, I'm – " He breathed, his movements were frantic and brought her closer and closer to that cliff from which there was only flying; they came together in each others arms. Ryan collapsed gently in her arms, lying his head on her chest breathing in her scent as Kelsey, caressed his hair and face gently; they were panting hard while smiling.

* * *

They were lying together, entangled, under the thick covers in the cave. Their cave, now. She was resting her cheek on his chest, while his hand drew circles on her back. Her mind seemed empty, she was calm and relaxed against him, nothing bothered her; she looked up at him, only to see him watching her with thoughtful, soft eyes; she smiled and kissed his cheek before cuddling into him again.

He grinned for a moment, and then his grin melted into a slight frown;

"What is it?" She touched his cheek with her finger. "You're upset."

"I dislike causing you harm." She looked up at him and he was serious and concerned.

"You had to." She murmured softly; her fingers gently rubbing against his skin under his chest, travelling widely across his stomach.

He touched her cheek. "Forgive me."

"Ryan…" She sighed.

"Kelsey." He whispered her name. She shifted, rising to look down at him;

"Don't." She whispered while she stared into his eyes.

"Let me heal you." He touched her cheek and his hand came to stroke her hair before pulling her down for a short kiss.

"Okay." She agreed, a bit reluctantly; she didn't like that he was upset, especially when she didn't feel sour at all. She knew just by looking at him that he was upset to a point of restlessness and she felt pleased that he cared that much. It complimented her.

Still, she didn't expect him to roll on top of her and put his middle finger in his mouth.

"What are you doing?"

"Trust me." He asked and moved away, gently spreading her legs. "It's going to be a little uncomfortable until I'm done, okay?"

She nodded, watching him: he licked her nub, making her shiver at the over-sensitivity of the place while she felt his finger gently, slowly sliding inside her. She tensed and he put a warm palm on her lower stomach, comforting. The finger inside of her was rather cold and the coolness eased a bit of the burning sensation she felt. She was still for a few long minutes, just gazing down at him; he was concentrated, his eyes closed while his finger was still inside of her.

Then he opened his eyes and slowly slid away his finger.

"Do you feel any better?"

She did. She nodded.

"It'll be gone completely in a couple of minutes." He smiled.

"Thanks." She blushed and he kissed her.

"Anything for you, my sweet." He murmured.

"Cuddle." She then demanded and he chuckled and kissed her lips, pulling her on top of him as he rolled on his back. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed making her laugh. She looked down at him now; his eyes were dark but so lovely, full of emotion. She smiled, watching his dimple deepening as he smiled back;

"Was it okay?"

She stared at him and knew he meant the sex.

She nodded, blushing; he smiled.

"You're still very shy." He noted, amused.

"You're embarrassing me!" She hit his shoulder and he laughed;

"I've only asked you if it was okay," He explained whilst pulling her closer and rubbing her arms. "To make sure I didn't scare you."

"You don't scare me, Ryan, if anything, you make me feel safe." She breathed to his chest. "Home."

He squeezed her closer, embracing her tightly to him.

"I'm pleased," He spoke softly. "I wish to be your anchor when everything else is in storms. I know I can be."

She stared at him, uncertain as to what he meant.

"I want to be the only one you have forever. Just me." His eyes pleaded her, the emotional swirl of his dark irises indicated just how serious he was. "Will you give me this privilege?"

He took her breath away with the simplicity of his request and then again with his sincerity. With how real it all was; there was something in his voice, in the way he picked his words: there was no other human being she could imagine who was better than Ryan. Anyone who was more sensitive, intelligent, loving…beautiful… It was Ryan alone. How could she ever say no to him?

Her eyes didn't move away from his as she nodded.

"Yes."

* * *

**A/N2**: If I were you, I'd wonder how long all of this lovey-dovey stuff is going to last…


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

A/N: An update! Finally! It took me ages to get this done, it's more of a filler, sort of. Those two get me really soft and instead of doing what I should do which includes tears, separation and pain, I'm writing fluff. Please **review** and let me know what you think.

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Thirteen**

"I don't want to let you go. Must this weekend die into a new week?"

Ryan held her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the soft skin gently, savory. Kelsey didn't want to let him go either, they had an amazing weekend; climbing a mountain, making love for the first time and now eating dinner by the fire and stargazing together. He promised a trip to a nearby fountain the next day and a few stories about his life before returning to Mariner Bay; his travel stories from snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef to floating in the Dead Sea.

"Won't I see you during the week? Or are you planning on ditching me next week as well?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he squeezed her against him yet again; they were sitting near a fire right at the entrance of the cave, he was leaning against the stone wall of the cave and Kelsey was leaning on Ryan's chest comfortably, both covered in a quilt.

"No, I don't plan on ever ditching you, Kitten." He answered quite seriously. "Our weekly encounters at the park are nothing like this," He conveyed at their surroundings with his hands. "I only enjoy sharing you with the stars and that is already too much." He added, making her blush.

She said nothing, letting silence take over as se leaned her head backwards on his shoulder. A little sigh escaped her lips as she did so, only then realizing her neck was uncomfortably stiff. Ryan kissed the joint of her neck on shoulder gently.

"Tired?" He asked in low rumble.

"No, just a little stiff from our several…activities." She complained lightly, expecting his low chuckle.

"Let me rub that away." His fingers gently pressed the side of her neck and she straightened up a bit, allowing him access to her neck. His fingers massaged her neck gently, slowly and precisely unknotting the ties in her muscles; she closed her eyes as she gave in to the light touch of his fingers on her skin, he made her tremble with the sensations he stirred inside her; delight and relaxation, warmth and softness. She mused at that thought; the way he was always makes her feel so feminine and ladylike. She never thought she was this 'kind' of a girl, giggling girly girl and yet he made her feel exactly that. It wasn't bad! Just new.

"Ow." He fingers pressed a spot on her nape right below her right ear and she shrunk for a rapid moment.

"Doesn't feel like a knot, I think it might be a bruise." He murmured to her ear, before his lips pressed hotly against that same aching spot, making her shiver in his arms. He squeezed her in his arms again.

"You're so fragile, it concerns me."

"I'm not fragile, I'm human." She shrugged. "And as far as I know, you are, too."

"Yes," He agreed. "Still, it's you I've seen bruised and bandaged. I worry."

"It's just a job and I've had worst, back in the day when I used to compete in skating contests." She mumbled as she allowed herself the liberty of gently scraping his knees with her nails. He didn't respond and she repeated her action.

"Stop that." He suddenly flinched a little and Kelsey smirked.

"Ticklish, are we?" She teased and once again racked her nails against his knees and he jumped a little, making her laugh.

"Two can play this game, Kitten." He warned and Kelsey turned a little, sticking her tongue at him. In a moment, his hands snuck under her shirt, tickling her sides.

Kelsey laughed hysterically, trying unsuccessfully to block his hands, but he was unmovable. Kelsey laughed until there were tears in her eyes, Ryan stopped at that and smiled at her lying horizontally on his legs, while her hands shielded her body.

"You are evil!" She accused as she calmed from her feat of laughter.

"Don't tease me next time." He smirked.

"You don't scare me, Ryan Hunters, not now and not ever. I saw you naked." She shrugged. "Not scared." She crossed her arms on her chest as if to prove that. Ryan started to laugh. Kelsey shrugged and sat up between his legs again.

"Seeing me naked is supposed to be some kind of a weapon?" He was still amused when his laughter died out.

"I…guess?" Kelsey frowned. "I mean, how can you ever really scare me when I can picture you naked?"

Ryan seemed to think about it. Then took off his shirt and gently rose on his feet.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, if you saw me naked and I lost my relative advantage, clothes don't really count now, do they?"

Kelsey snorted and stood up, taking off her own clothes.

"What are you doing?" He was the one asking now.

"I'm not letting you turn your disadvantage to an advantage without me making it even."

Ryan chuckled, standing in his full glory in front of her. She evened out quite quickly and soon stood in front of him as naked as the day she was born. Her panties didn't even get to touch the ground when Kelsey was swept off by Ryan; in a blink she found herself on her back on the bed with Ryan's mouth kissing her so passionately that the entire world besides him dissolved…

* * *

"So what did you guys did the entire weekend?" Danna was sitting on her bed, it was seven thirty on a Monday morning and they were both swapping breakfast for consuming Ben&Jerry's in Kelsey's room after morning training.

"Uhm… We climbed and stuff." Kelsey frowned, hating the blush she felt creeping on her cheeks.

Dana licked her spoon clean and grinned at Kelsey. "How was it?"

"Fun?" Maybe she could get away…

"Was he any good?"

"Dana!"

"What? I was only asking." She shrugged. "I bet he was good, you can't take the smile off of your face…"

"He was great." Kelsey admitted, her ears turning pink.

"I knew it!" Dana squealed.

"You are such a bad influence." Kelsey rolled her eyes and Dana laughed.

"My little girl all grown up and having sex with strangers…" Dana sighed.

"Ryan's not a stranger!" Kelsey objected, making Dana smirk.

"The guys don't know him yet - - "

"Carter does and so do you, so that counts." Kelsey argued.

"That won't do for Joel or Chad. You have to introduce him!"

"You know what they'll be like…" Kelsey moaned;

"Yes: trouble." Dana laughed. "Seeing Ryan dealing with Joel would be priceless."

* * *

"So, how long have you been seeing Kelsey _behind our backs_?"

They were all in the park, it was a late brunch. Kelsey, Dana and Carter were up playing Frisbee while Chad and Joel set out to investigate Ryan. As opposed to the three teammates playing in the sun, Chad and Joel sat with Ryan under a tree; he was leaning against the tree trunk while the two, jumpy, bombarded him with questions.

"Just about the same time you _haven't_ noticed your best friend is going out with me." He smirked at Joel and Chad laughed.

"I've never seen him not coming up with a sting. Congratulations!" Chad offered his hand to Ryan for a shake. Ryan took it with a grin.

"Guys, when are you going to team up against us and lose?" Kelsey waved at them.

"We'll show you what losing means, Winslow!" Joel shouted back, jumping on his feet and racing toward the playing trio; when he was closer to his friends, he jumped and grabbed the Frisbee in mid-air.

"Yee-ha! Air Cowboy to the rescue!" He called as he landed on his feet and sent the flying toy towards Ryan who caught it in effortlessly, then aimed and threw it to Chad who was running right behind Carter. Carter grabbed the toy and Chad knocked him down, the two starting to wrestle for the toy.

Chad was right about to win their little match but then Kelsey jumped on top of them both. "Oh, no, you won't!" She declared and grabbed the plastic and made a run for it.

"Dana, get it!" She yelled and sent it flying towards Dana. The pink ranger, as if synchronized completely with her yellow friend, gave a high jump, almost flying in mid air as her hands sourly missed the Frisbee in mere millimeters; Ryan, ready for action made a dive for it and grabbed it.

He sent Kelsey a smirk and looked around for Chad or Joel, only to see Chad was still struggling with Carter and Dana was coming closer every second. Joel, smirking lightly, gave him a smirk.

"That's what you get for not asking permission to date my friend. GET HIM!" At his command Dana, Kelsey and Joel charged on Ryan; a moment later and Ryan started to run, laughing all the way. Only, he stopped laughing when he reached Chad and Carter who stopped wrestling only to join ganging up on Ryan.

It was too late for Ryan to run now, especially being bound to the ground by Chad and Carter; "Pile o' Rangers!" Joel yelled and Kelsey laughed hysterically as one by one they all landed on top of Ryan, making him groan at every added weight. They all stayed that for a long moment, laughing.

"Hungry!" Dana declared from somewhere underneath Chad's arm and Carter's foot.

"Yeah, me too." Carter agreed above Ryan's feet, right in Chad's armpit.

"I think I'll never be able to breathe again." Ryan rolled his eyes at their weight and Kelsey laughed and jumped off of the pile, helping her friends to stand up. Dana, headed back to their picnic area, opting for some sandwiches, followed by Chad, Joel and Carter.

The last person se extended her hand to, was Ryan. He took her hand and pulled her down on top of him lazily; she smiled.

"So, from one to ten, how much have we weirded you out?

"I'd say," Ryan closed one eye and scrunched his nose, assessing, "a million. You're all a bunch of freaks." He grinned and Kelsey laughed.

"I know, right?"

Ryan smiled. "You're the craziest. How do I put up with you?"

"Yeah, I know." She giggled at him. "Must be real hard, Ryan." She nodded her head agreeably.

"The hardest." He murmured to her ear, his tone referring her to something else completely. She raised her head to stare at him for a long moment, her eyes searching his.

"What do you think?" She asked, tilting her head as she stared down at him;

"Of them?"

She nodded.

"As long as they're good friends to you and give you the care and support you deserve and require, I think we can manage." His voice was soft. "It would evaporate in an instant if any of them harms you, Kelsey, I have no mercy."

"They won't." She whispered.

"They might." He replied coolly and Kelsey knew it was true; all friendships are a risk, putting your heart out in anything is a risk, and to Kelsey, friendship was a risk worth taking. She wondered if Ryan ever thought of pros and cons of such things as friendships and love, because sometimes, it seemed to her, he was completely missing the point.

Maybe it was something she was meant to teach him, in a way; how let go and take a risk. How to lose control with full understanding that can be beneficial.

"The sunset is near. Shall we?" His voice brought her back from her thoughts.

"Sure." She smiled and pushed herself up from his chest, offering her hand which he took this time and got p on his feet. He didn't let go of her hand as e gently led her to their spot, to watch the sunset. They walked in a comfortable silence; each of them had been swept away by deep thoughts.

Kelsey thought there was nothing better than this; an afternoon with the people she loved and cherished. An afternoon with her new found family.

* * *

**A/N2**: If I were you, I'd wonder how long **DarkHonda** (yours truly) can keep writing fluff...


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

A/N: Yes, yes, I know. Fluff!Alret.

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Fourteen**

Kelsey was walking in the park, heading to their bench slowly, tiredly; her right arm hanging on a cloth hook that was tied around her neck, for support. The pain was sedated with Dana's kind help, right before she left the Aquabase. Her arm was broken thanks to the Titanium Ranger, some would deem an injury caused by the Titanium Ranger honorable, to be worthy enough fighter to be targeted by him; Kelsey dismissed those _honorary_ proclamations. The Titanium Ranger was nothing but a self centered, overpowering, greedy, loathsome bastard who would one day, no doubt, get what he deserves by none other than the Power Rangers.

It was already completely dark, and she took a deep breath before she dared to search for him in her eyes, not making a move. Ryan was pacing in front of the bench, his arms moved mechanically against his sides with which each step, like a soldier. For the first time he looked somewhat menacing to her; there was something very… well, _dark_ in the way he was not giving the view a second (nor a first) glance, as if nothing was important, his thoughts superior to all. She noticed how stiff was his back and how his head was slightly bowed, staring downwards. Concentrated? Concerned?

Probably.

"Hi." Her voice sounding very small to her ears, that she was certain he hasn't heard her.

Only he did.

He froze in his place, his head turning to her direction; "Kelsey!"

He made a step toward her and stopped in his tracks, frowning at her arm. A quick moment later he rushed to her, coming to a halt only millimeters away from her, almost careful as to not to touch her.

She bit her bottom lip and raised her large pair of eyes at him; he held his hand out to her and instead of taking her hand he brought his hand to her cheek and caressed it quietly, not saying another word.

She blushed against his touch, suddenly shy;

"What happened?" He demanded softly, looking down, between them, to her bandaged arm.

"I don't want to talk about it." She didn't elaborate; for some reason, there were tears burning her eyes and the back of her throat. She felt like a small child returning to her parent for comfort after a mean fall.

She hated not telling him why and still she needed his comfort, his closeness; the sense of security he gave her, her shelter with him, at the park, at nighttime.

"Could you - - " She swallowed, hating how her voice strained at the effort of not crying. "Could you, please, just - - " she took a small breath. "Hold me?"

He wrapped his arms around her, gently pressing her against him and Kelsey closed her eyes as she rested her head on his chest. Tears trickled down despite her closed eyes. One of his hands gently drew circles on her back, the rhythm of the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed turned into a mantra that lulled her into relaxation and calm. His heartbeats had a miraculously calming effect while on her, his scent of musk and sandalwood so close and reassuring.

He said nothing and he didn't need to, because he was right there holding her and being her rock. He was a constant in a life of no guarantees and she was thankful she had him.

"I'm sorry." She sniffled and stared up at him, her fingers clinging to his black tee-shirt. "It's not your fault, I'm a little – " His finger touched her lips.

"I am here for you." He spoke gently. Her cheeks that were slightly numb and very stained from the salty tears she shed, turned rosy a second time.

"You need rest." He led her to their bench, carefully seating her and joining her. "What is the damage to your arm?"

She blinked. "It's broken."

"Let me…" He carefully took her arm in his. He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating, and she stared at his beautiful face; there was a small crease between his eyebrows as he concentrated and she smiled.

A warm sensation engulfed her injured arm and he waited patiently until he opened his eyes and smiled at her. "It would be gone by sunrise."

She grinned tearfully. "Thanks."

"Anything." He breathed.

She turned to look at their view of the city; each night she spent at the bench with Ryan she was overwhelmed of the enchanting lights of the city beneath them. The colours were dancing like fireflies and shone brightly against the darkness, looking up there were myriad of stars spread right above their heads. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, regaining her peace.

Ryan kissed her healthy hand and she giggled as she marveled at the sensation of his warm lips on her skin in the cold night air. She shivered.

"You're cold." The vibration of his voice tickled her ear as he pressed his lips to her neck.

She turned her head to look at him; "I'm so happy to have you."

"As I – you." He hid his smile in the kiss he pressed to her cheek.

She was obviously under his spell, how could he make her heart shiver and race altogether?

"Ryan, really." She insisted, laying her healthy arm on his shoulder. He smiled.

"I know."

"You give me so much." She had to stifle a moan as his teeth grazed her earlobe.

"I wish to give you more, name it and it's yours." He spoke distractedly and she giggled at his sappy sweet-talk.

"Kiss me."

His lips pressed against hers in a moment, torturing her sweetly; his tongue licking her lips and stealing into her mouth, investigating every corner of it, making her moan at the sheer pleasure of his taste and action.

"Home?" His lips formed the word on hers.

She nodded, rubbing her nose in his and in a second they were sitting on his bed in their cave.

* * *

Kelsey woke up early in the morning, more than used to waking up early on weekdays; although she felt him next to her, Kelsey turned to look at him, sleeping, his face buried in her pillow, one of his hands laying protectively on her stomach. She smiled sleepily at the sweet sight of him, enjoying this perfect moment of peace. After a while of staring, Kelsey gently slid her fingers on his cheeks, enjoying the light spark that one simple action managed to stir inside her.

He mumbled something and buried his face in her neck, his entire body readjusting; his arm went to wrap around her waist and one muscled leg found a rest between her thighs. She giggled silently, happy at his need of possessing her even in his sleep. She brought her lips to his forehead and brushed them against his skin gently, in a chaste kiss.

She loved that she could feel his weight against her, the warmth emanating from his body was comforting and his hard muscles softened against her. She loved that he allowed himself to be vulnerable, exposed, around her. That he could be himself. She felt the same way with him, she was never afraid to be herself around him, she knew she was safe and protected in his company; that she was loved, even if she never heard him say the words. He made her feel beautiful.

She slowly let her fingers into his hair; the blond strands of hair were soft to touch and Kelsey enjoyed this contact. He needed a haircut again, she noted smilingly. Her fingers roamed his scalp, caressing gently.

When he leaned into her touch she knew he was awake and kissed his nose, grinning.

"Morning, Ry."

He blinked and kissed her lips until she saw stars. "Good Morning, Kitten. How did you sleep?"

His voice was very hoarse inducing excitement in her, so much that she found it hard to concentrate, and the kisses he trailed down her neck were not helping, either.

"I slept very well, thank you." He hummed.

She gasped when he sucked her collar bone.

"How is your arm? Better?" He buried his nose in the valley between her breasts, taking a deep breath and kissing the delicate skin.

She moaned.

"I forgot about it, it doesn't hurt anymore." She murmured almost shyly, embarrassed she has not thought of her injury once since she woke up.

"You must be very distracted not to remember an injury from yesterday." He stopped trying to nibble her bellybutton and stared up at her; the pure lust in his eyes made her hold her breath.

"I always am when you're around me." She admitted brazenly, not even blushing. He smirked and covered her body with his. He kissed her deeply, wantonly, and she gave him her all.

* * *

"I love you." She told him when he rolled on his back and pulled her next to him, both were completely spent;

She shyly stole a glance at him, in his eyes, and found them as enthralling, as fascinating, as always; there was fire in his black eyes, eternally burning there and she knew it was solely for her. He didn't need to even admit to that.

He said nothing for a long time, so long that Kelsey thought he fell asleep, but when she tried to move away he squeezed her, as if to let her know he was awake.

She knew he loved her.

Right?

It was so obvious, in his protectiveness, in the way he made love to her, the way he told her so many secrets and took her to his most treasured place.

He loves her. She didn't really have to hear him say it. Of course, it could be very pleasant to hear hi, but - -

"I would not use the word love to describe my…feelings for you."

She frowned; "How would you call it?"

"Admiration, Commitment, Respect, Passion, Appreciation, Responsibility, Compassion." With each word she wondered more, and when he fell into silence and she realized he was done, she couldn't help the slight giggle.

And she merely loved him.

"Kelsey?"

It was strange to listen to him detail his love; he took a complex and sensitive theme and slowly dismantled it to its primary ingredients. Like he knew what love was made of but refused to call it love.

"Thank you, Ryan, it is very reassuring to hear."

She sighed in content and cuddled closer to him for a short morning nap.

* * *

**A/N2**: Not long now (: ...


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, only the plot and the circumstances.

A/N: Happy Birthday to me two days ago! (: Enjoy..

**Enchantment Passing Through**

**Chapter Fifteen**

She stood there, silently, watching him watching the sunset; he was standing alone at the very top of their observation point, his eyes not moving at inch from the panoramic scenery that was laid out before him.

Kelsey knew that exact scenery by heart; with her eyes closed she could see every detail of it. Yet it wasn't the view that had her full attention, Ryan did.

She stared at him; so dark and masculine, standing out in a background of oranges, pinks and yellows. He was rigid and it seemed he hasn't even moved for breathing, and Kelsey felt so tensed that she held her breath; she wondered what he was thinking while staring so intensively at the view. Was he sad? Mad, even? Was he surprised at the mutual revelation they're shared a few hours ago, not much further than where they are?

She felt exposed and couldn't help but being curious; did he feel the same? Being exposed meant being weak and Ryan was _never_ weak, not even when he trusted her see him in his sleep.

The colours of the skies slowly faded to their familiar dark atmosphere and Kelsey could not bear staring at him anymore. Painfully, she turned around, intending on leaving him there, alone.

Running away.

She was running away like a coward, not like a Power Ranger.

She couldn't help it. Everything was too complicated for her to decipher, nothing made sense anymore and she drowned in her own despair.

"Is this how it's going to be now?" He asked all of a sudden, making her freeze just two steps away. She was forced to turn around and face him, distress was rising in her. She couldn't face him; she couldn't bear to set her eyes on his, not now and maybe not ever. She calmed slightly when she saw he was still watching the city, but then he turned around to face her.

The blackness behind him took over as the night descended upon Mariner Bay. There was not a star in sight.

His eyes were as black as the nothingness around them, as black as she felt while her heart slowly died in her chest. A sense of betrayal and doom engulfed her.

"You tricked me into this, Titanium Ranger." She blamed him while managing to keep her voice still. There was a slight relief at being able to speak her mind to him, to unburden herself, to hurt him as much as he hurt her. It didn't ease the pain though, her heart was constricting in her chest, dissolving at the face of this new reality: he wasn't Ryan anymore.

He was the Titanium Ranger.

* * *

(Flashback)

_"Blond curly ones, too!"_

_"Dana!" She laughed as she sprinted to catch up with the Pink Ranger; they were all jogging in the park, running uphill, and Dana thought it was the best time to tease her with Ryan related pokes._

_"Come on, Kels! You had that one coming!" She shouted back at her._

_Dana's insinuation that Kelsey wanted to have Ryan's babies was not as annoying as it was embarrassing, especially because it was partly true. Okay, perhaps it was very true, Kelsey had to admit to herself._

_It didn't mean she couldn't get back at Dana with her own weapon._

_"Like you could deny how much you want little firefighting red shirted babies." She teased right back at Dana once she caught up with her friend._

_Dana laughed. "Is this the best you can come up with?"_

_Kelsey frowned for a moment and then smirked;_

_"Carter, how do you like the name Junior?" Kelsey shouted at Carter who was leading the group._

_"What?" He frowned, slowing down to let Kelsey and Dana catch up with him._

_"How about James?"_

_"What about it?" Carter raised an eyebrow._

_"How do you like it as a name? Would you name your kid James?" Kelsey continued, snickering at Dana's mortified expression._

_"Uh, it's okay, I guess?" Carter shrugged._

_"How about Caleb?" She suggested._

_"I don't think so." Carter answered as if it was the most natural question in the world._

_"Josh?" Kelsey sniggered._

_"Kelsey, stop!" Dana was as red as a tomato and Kelsey sure it wasn't from running;_

_"Maybe. I think Peter is a nice name." Carter answered and Kelsey could see shock registering on Dana's face. _

_"Pete it is. How about a name for a girl?" Kelsey kept her investigation, Dana seemed kind of interested now._

_"I like Sydney." She noted._

_"Yeah, me too." Carter smiled at Dana and Kelsey could've sworn she heard Dana's heart stopping. Deviously, Kelsey decided to drift and let her two favourite love birds sort out all the names for their future babies. She slowed down and allowed the pair to out-run her for a minute._

_Only it didn't last long._

_Joel was flying thirty feet in the air, only his quick morph prevented him to crash and breaking a couple of bones; while she saw Dana running to Joel, Kelsey ran to catch up with Carter as he ran straight to Joel and Chad's attackerall the meanwhile silently morphing - - _

_The Titanium Ranger._

_"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Carter spat._

_Kelsey rolled her eyes as her suit gave a nervous shimmer._

_"I would've, but there's only you, Red Ranger." The Titanium Ranger shot right back. Kelsey had to stop the smile forming on her lips; at least the guy had a comeback!_

_"What happened, ran out of monsters to throw at us, so you've come to do the dirty work?" She pointed out._

_"I don't need monsters to defeat you, Yellow Ranger." He spewed evilly, his voice was sort of raspy but somehow familiar, too. Instead of the usual skin crawling tone, his voice was…disturbingly pleasant? Like she heard him before, intimately. Did that even make sense?_

_"Unfortunately for you, Weaklings, Father asked me to rid the world of your pesky little presence. I shall make do." _

_That shiver which was going through her body did not make sense. There was something oddly familiar about it._

_"Good thing since there are five of us and only one of you!" Chad provoked from next to Carter, Kelsey rolled her eyes; as much as she hated to admit it, the Titanium bastard was strong, almost too strong and trying to boast in an advantage that did not bring any victory so far, wasn't very smart._

_"Is that what your Captain Mitchell tells you? Because so far it isn't working, Fish boy."_

_"Enough of talk, time to play!" Joel yelled and charged at the evil ranger, V lancer at hand._

_"Batlings." The Titanium Ranger said in a near whisper and thirty Batlings appeared out of thin air all around them._

_"Better get to work." Kelsey mumbled to herself and took on those three closest Batlings._

_While fighting, Kelsey barely noticed her surrounding; between one blow to the other or one dodge and a kick, she only managed to take a look around once every a few long minutes and even that was just to see if there was anyone in serious trouble. She noticed Joel being flung in the air again and landing on a picnic table, completely crashing it._

_Second was Chad being thrown into a nearby slide, his suit completely shimmering out as he laid, stunned, on the slide. _

_Then it was Dana, venturing out to spiral kick at him only to be caught by the leg and have it broken in a nauseating sound before being discarded on the sandbox, to Chad's feet._

_And Carter in a fit of pure rage advancing toward the Titanium Ranger, unthinking, getting punched everywhere with a near-yawn until his suit shimmered out, his face bloody and swollen._

_Kelsey took a deep breath; it was her turn._

_The Batlings has long since disappeared and she wondered, sadly, how can the Titanium Ranger be so right sometime? She approached him slowly, as if trying to postpone a well known end to this disastrous encounter._

_"Well, well, Yellow Ranger." His voice was soft. "Are you sure you're up to it? Your Ranger Friends were not."_

_A strange calm took over her._

_"I'm not scared of you." She noted._

_"You should be." _

_Something inside of her was excited at the lightness of his manner of speech. Weird._

_"Well, I'm not. You're wrong." She directed a punch to his chest and he blocked her, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back, pulling her against him._

_"You shouldn't have tried, Little Ranger."_

_She snorted as she stepped on his toes, making him lose his grip; she turned around and punched his stomach, making him falter for a quick moment, which she used to kick his thigh to make him even more unbalanced; _

_She watched as he fell to the ground and put her foot on his back._

_Something was very strange about the way he was fighting; she frowned under her helmet as she watched him curiously. There was not a murderous strike to him as usual. Why?_

_He grabbed her foot and pulled her down, rolling on top of her and trying to grab her arms. She punched him, throwing a serious fit, thrashing all over the place in defiance._

_When he grabbed her arms, she froze;_

_"What's wrong with you?" She shot at him; "Why aren't you killing me?"_

_He laughed; "I won't ever hurt you, Kelsey." His visor disappeared to reveal very amused set of black coal eyes._

_"Ryan?"_

_And it all went downhill from there._

(End Flashback)

* * *

"If I wanted you dead, I would've finished the job ages ago. I've had the best chances, haven't I?" He was frowning, his brow creased as his eyes conveyed his confusion. She refused to look at him, to acknowledge this so called kindness of heart of his, not hurting her. She turned away from him in utter defiance.

"You knew." She blamed coolly, "And you didn't tell me. You rather I live in ignorance of the most important fact - - " She paused for a moment, musing at the stillness of her voice, however she managed to seem calm when inside of her everything was burning in anguish?

He took a step toward her and she took a step backwards. Distance was important to her clarity of mind, without his addiction touches, his soft words. She needed to stay focused.

"I wasn't sure. I knew you lived at the Aquabase, that you worked there, but I never thought – "

"When Wolfabeast attacked me, fuck, when you broke my arm!" Her pain flooded her as she recalled the fragile, sensitive mess she was as a result of her broken arm. It was only Ryan who could make her better, the comfort he offered so sweetly. So bitterly now. She dared to raise her wet eyes to his, to see if he was telling the truth, to see the alien darkness emanating from his black eyes.

"Your friends killed Wolfabeast long before I could ask him who he managed to take down." He replied calmly. "I broke your arm to confirm my suspicion." He admitted.

It wasn't darkness that she saw in his eyes; it was those familiar, emotional black eyes that moved with more pain than she could've ever imagined. The only reason she believed he was Diabolico's servant was because she saw it in her own eyes;

Her heart tore in her chest, shred after shred. "Why am I listening to this?"

"I meant everything I said the night I healed your arm, Kelsey."

That he loved her in his own strange, evil way, but it wasn't enough now. There was nothing he could say to make her feel less cheated. When she realized he lied to her, he betrayed every drop of trust she had had in him.

He moved closer to her, taking a few more steps, she didn't notice, her light eyes growing heavy with the pain of his lie and betrayal.

He inched closer, sending his hand to stroke her cheek gently. His hand was warm and his touch comforting, but it was what started the whole mess in the first place; the way he made her feel, so secured and so beautifully loved, it was all a deceit.

"Our relationship is pure and selfless, Kelsey. It is not a game to me." It's like he could read her mind sometimes, and now she wasn't completely sure that he hasn't done that to her.

She tore away from his touch.

"Isn't it?" Tears started to trickle on her cheeks. "Remember those bruises you insisted on kissing? They were your own making." She reminded.

He promised to never hurt her and yet, he had caused her so much pain, so many physical bruises on her body were his doing and now, her soul…

"Tell me, who's given these to me?" She threw her arms forward, showing him the marks of his grip on her arms. "Tell me that you're not responsible for this and I'll believe you. Tell me that you've never hit me, that you've never broken my arm… that you never wanted to hurt me." She sobbed, he inched closer but she pulled away.

"Kelsey…" He whispered; she could see the pain in his expression, but a part of her refused to acknowledge his pain or to feel sorry for him. "Kelsey, none of my monsters will ever touch you again." He promised.

She looked at him; he swallowed hard, maybe trying not to surrender to his tears.

"And my friends?" She asked soberly.

"They're my enemies." He was straightforward, unapologetic.

"And I'm not?" She contradicted.

"You're a part of me, whether you like it or not." He gave her a harsh, conceited glare. "We're two halves of the same whole and you better start believing we belong together."

His arrogance and pretentiousness annoyed her;

She frowned; "Stop bullshitting me!"

Her agony turned to fury at his confidence she would fall at his feet.

"I was honest with you all along: didn't I tell you that I have Darkness in me? You said it didn't matter."

"It does when you target my friends."

"That cannot be helped." He breathed; she could see he was fighting to remain calm. "I'll win this war and then we could be together. Have all of those little ones you want."

What the fuck was going through his head? Did he really think that in his creation of a fantasy world where all of her friends are dead, she would actually join him? That they would have those beautiful, blond haired and brown eyed kids she dreamt about? What the hell was wrong with him?!

"Forget it. Not with you."

And that was what made him snap.

"If you think I'll ever allow you to be with anyone else, you're in the wrong." He was speaking very quietly but she heard every word; there was something menacing in the way he held himself now and she suddenly felt very small, but not scared.

He couldn't scare her even if he wanted to: she knew he couldn't physically hurt her.

"I'm the _only_ one you're _ever_ going to be with." He said slowly, stressing every word. "And even if you try to have anyone else," He chuckled as if that would never happen, "He'll be dead before you can say 'Lightspeed'."

"Fuck you." She answered. "You'd want that, right? You just want me to give you a reason to kill, don't you?"

He didn't answer.

"We're over."

She turned to leave and managed to walk a few steps before he appeared right in front of her, she collided into him and he caught her and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her against him and kissed her demandingly.

She tried to pull away quickly; she even tried to push him away, but then the kiss took over, his lips mesmerized her, taking over her, like they always did. This enchanting way he could make her completely his in just a kiss, was now her weakness; it made her forget everything and everyone out of the little world they created for themselves: Sunrises in the cave with him after a night of lovemaking and Sunsets in their spot.

When he pulled a little, breathing hard, she stared into his eyes; they were so determined and black that she had to look away, this was tearing her to pieces. He touched her chin, making her, gently, look at him again;

It was, possibly, the last time she is ever going to see him like this; close, touching, goddamned emotional.

And she loved him.

She started to cry, full on now.

"Come here." He murmured and pulled her close to a tight, crushing hug. She cried on his chest, letting him to rub her back, trying to soothe her.

"It's alright, kitten." He whispered to her as he rubbing circles on her back. "It's okay." He squeezed her a little, leaning his chin on her head. She couldn't help but thinking how much she's going to miss this: his warmth and security; his gentleness and sweet nature; his wise advice and witty remarks.

She pulled away a bit and he smiled at her, his hands came to her face and wiped away her tears.

"You mean everything to me, Kelsey, more than anyone in this world, and a few others, too." He explained slowly. "Being on the opposite sides in this situation over the city doesn't change an inch of what and how much you mean to me, and how much I need you to be close, to protect and admire you."

She pulled away completely now.

"You don't understand... I can't do this." Those damn tears again. "My friends and this city are everything – "

"Are they?" He questioned harshly. "When we met you were well on your way to quitting."

"And you showed me how important my job is, because it allows such a beautiful creation of love. In my world it's not wrong to love you. Can you say the same?"

He kept quiet.

"I'm not asking you to switch sides." She added; she really wasn't. He was who he was, and she loved him anyway.

"Ry…" She wiped her tears. "Ryan." She corrected when she realized her mistake. "I love you for you, and I cannot allow you to take over the city and kill my friends." He nodded and touched her cheek.

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop it. I'll jump in front of them be it needed."

"I understand. I have my obligations, too." He muttered softly. "Promise me, when this is over, promise we will be together, no matter who wins."

She bit her lip.

"Kelsey?" He frowned.

"I have to go." She whispered.

"Tomorrow at Sunset?"

Something in his voice was desperate, as if trying to hold on to something, anything of their time together.

She shook her head.

"Kelsey…" He whispered, taking her hands in his.

"I can't." She sniffled. "This war is happening and I can't deny it."

He clenched his jaw angrily and pulled away from her.

"If this is what you want…"

He disappeared in anger.

Crying, she fell on her knees on the grass, wrapping her arms around her knees and wept. Why? Why did all of this have to happen to her? She should've just quit, instead of going to this fucking park and meet him. He had no heart, what the hell she expected, of him to turn all goody two shoes? It was never going to happen! She was just a stupid little girl with foolish fantasies that never stood a chance of happening in the first place.

Agony blinded her to her surrounding as the flood on pain and misery engulfed her.

"Kelsey?"

She jumped a little and turned around. Carter was standing a few feet away, looking kind of embarrassed and out of place.

"Can I?"

She nodded and he sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders;

"How are you feeling?"

She looked at him numbly, he blushed, seeming even more embarrassed;

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Her voice was shaking, but she didn't care anymore.

"I, umm… well, I've heard it." He smiled sheepishly and when she looked at him, frowning, he hurried to explain; "We've turned on the mini-camera on your morpher. We wanted to make sure you'll be – "

"I'm always safe with Ryan." She snapped; then realized it. "Look, I'm sorry, it's just that – "

"You love him."

"Yeah, and the fact he wants to kill all of you guys, including his dad and sister – "

"You stuck up for us." Carter smiled softly.

"Yes, well, you're family."

"Thanks. Why did you want to quit?"

"I got a little bored and the same routine every day became straining. I felt worn out." She shrugged and then chuckled. "He said I needed a vacation and he was right."

"He loves you."

"I don't know anymore. He never told me, you know?"

"Did you need him to? Have you not known?" Carter asked gently.

"No, I mean, I know. Well, knew, he stormed off." She shrugged.

"He loves you." Carter stated simply. Carter had this small smile on which was so un-Carter-like. It was strange and surreal and that what made her believe it was true;

"How can you tell?"

"The way he looks at you. He's right, you know: he had plenty of opportunities to kill you, why hadn't he? After all, his mission is to do just that." Carter was so rational sometimes.

"I don't know. Our relationship was fun and mutual. Maybe he enjoyed the physical aspect…"

"Oh come on, he's evil, he could get laid in a second, I bet."

Kelsey's jaw dropped.

"What?" Carter smiled embarrassedly.

Kelsey raised an eyebrow.

"You are being very Dana-ish."

He blushed.

"It's just that he's never been anything but sweet and sensitive and he's always been there for me, listening, loving, supporting. He kissed all of my bruises." Tears again, her eyes burnt. "I thought it was so romantic then. It doesn't seem very romantic now, huh?"

Carter nodded once.

"Look, I'm not trying to protect him or anything. I just think that he never intended on falling in love with the yellow ranger, you know? Seems highly unlikely, especially now, that you both are in a situation where you force yourselves apart."

"He's evil. I'm not sure that he's not planned it." Was her dry reply.

"Kelsey, did you look at him at all? He's whipped." Kelsey frowned. "Trust me, I – I can tell."

Kelsey smiled sadly.

"It takes one to know one?"

"Yeah, I guess." Carter shrugged.

"Why don't you tell her?" She asked softly; somehow it was much easier to focus on Carter and Dana rather on herself.

"It doesn't seem ethical – " He started;

"You're scared, oh, mighty red one." She mocked.

"I'm not."

"Then why – "

"You know why, there are rules."

"Are you kidding me?" Carter missing out, well, passing over such an opportunity for love was pissing her off. "I'm in a relationship with Mr. Evil and you're all in a fuss about loving Dana who's, by the way, on _our_ side. Not to mention she has feelings for you, too!"

Kelsey punched him in the arm.

"Do you realize you're wasting your time, when you could be so happy just about now and you're putting it off because you're scared of what other people might say?!"

Carter was once again embarrassed.

Silence.

Carter seemed to be in a deep thought and Kelsey sighed; she missed Ryan already and it hadn't been three hours even! How could she survive a day, not to mention a week or a month?

She already felt lonely.

"Kels?" Carter asked tentatively.

"I want to go home."

He rose on his feet and offered her his arm, she took it and the pair made their way to the Aquabase in silence.

"Carter?" She asked when they've reached her room in the Aquabase.

He looked at her.

"Thanks."

And she walked inside.

* * *

**A/N2**: Let the AngstFest begin! And my little try at CarterDana...


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